Charles Leclerc posted a time of 1 minute, 13.449 seconds on Friday at Hockenheim.
Ferrari topped both Friday practice sessions at the F1 German Grand Prix with Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc claiming a session each as Mercedes struggled in the unusually hot Hockenheim temperatures.
Europe is in the middle of a Saharan heatwave, with temperatures far warmer than normal, and this is proving to be a problem for Mercedes. Struggling in Austria when the temperatures crept up, the Silver Arrows returned to form at Silverstone with the cooler weather, but Friday in Germany was difficult.
However, with thunderstorms and rain predicted for the rest of the weekend, the weekend could become a complete lottery.
“I think it’s so hot that all of the teams are plateauing on the grip level,” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff told Sky Sports. “You overheat the (tire) surface at a certain stage and you can’t extract any downforce anymore.
“The day’s ambient is a complete outlier to tomorrow, so it’s very difficult to judge (where we are).”
Asked about any cooling issues the team may have suffered, Wolff added, “In terms of engine cooling, we are in a good space. It was not a problem anymore. I think it’s more grip level. We have seen that the Ferrari was really strong through the corners today which should have been us in the past.”
A small error from Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas dropped him half a second off third-place Lewis Hamilton with Max Verstappen fifth.
In the other Red Bull, Pierre Gasly failed to complete his qualifying simulation lap and hit the wall – catching some oversteer in the final corner but overcorrecting and heading to the scene of the accident. Gasly finished a season-best fourth in the British Grand Prix.
“We need to get the chassis back and have a proper look at it first, but unfortunately it was about a 10 g impact,” said Horner. “Thankfully it’s not his race gearbox or engine. It’s just frustrating really to lose a car at that point in the session.
“Off the back of a good result in Silverstone, it’s not the start to the weekend that you’d want here. It’s only free practice, we’ll get the car rebuilt tonight and we build on that tomorrow, but it’s an annoying accident. It is what it is, we can’t change it now and we get on with it.”
Practice Two Results
Pos.
Driver
Constructor
Tire
Time
1
Charles Leclerc
Scuderia Ferrari
S
1:13.449
2
Sebastian Vettel
Scuderia Ferrari
S
+0.124
3
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport
S
+0.146
4
Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport
S
+0.662
5
Max Verstappen
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
S
+0.684
6
Romain Grosjean
Rich Energy Haas F1 Team
S
+0.730
7
Lance Stroll
SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team
S
+0.819
8
Kimi Raikkonen
Alfa Romeo Racing
S
+1.009
9
Nico Hulkenberg
Renault F1 Team
S
+1.023
10
Sergio Perez
SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team
S
+1.069
11
Carlos Sainz Jr.
McLaren F1 Team
S
+1.213
12
Daniil Kvyat
Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
S
+1.351
13
Daniel Ricciardo
Renault F1 Team
S
+1.561
14
Alexander Albon
Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
S
+1.613
15
Pierre Gasly
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
M
+1.640
16
Lando Norris
McLaren F1 Team
S
+1.798
17
Antonio Giovinazzi
Alfa Romeo Racing
S
+1.957
18
Kevin Magnussen
Rich Energy Haas F1 Team
S
+2.021
19
George Russell
ROKiT Williams Racing
S
+3.451
20
Robert Kubica
ROKiT Williams Racing
S
+3.531
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