FP2: Hamilton tops second practice at Spa

Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen swapped positions in second practice for the Belgian GP as the Brit went quickest with a 1:44.7 on the ultrasoft Pirellis.

Second practice began with just 19 cars on the track as Felipe Massa required a new chassis having broken his first one in a heavy crash in FP1.

Although Williams stated that they hoped to get him out before the end of FP2, the FIA made it clear that Massa would not be able to run until the car had gone through scrutineering – and that would only take place on Saturday morning.

While Ferrari set the early pace, Sebastian Vettel’s time – set on the supersofts – was blitzed by Lewis Hamilton who led a Mercedes 1-2 after the first 30 minutes of play. The Brit’s best at the time, a 1:45.6, was set on the soft tyres.

With the threat of rain in the air drivers swapped over to the ultrasoft tyres for their qualy simulations prior to the halfway mark in the 90-minute practice.

Hamilton went quickest with a 1:44.753 while Raikkonen, who had the pace in the morning’s session was second, 0.262s down.

Valtteri Bottas was third fastest ahead of Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo. The Aussie lost some track time due to a driveability problem that sent him back into the pits after which Renault had a look at the engine.

Nico Hulkenberg was best of the rest in seventh place ahead of Esteban Ocon, Carlos Sainz and Jolyon Palmer.

With the rain coming down with 30 minutes remaining some of the teams tried a few laps on the inters but those proved problematic as the conditions were more suits to full wets. Both Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso struggled with aquaplaning and some near disasters before heading back into the pits.

Times
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:44.753
2 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:45.015 0.262
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:45.180 0.427
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:45.225 0.472
5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:45.235 0.482
6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:46.072 1.319
7 Nico Hulkenberg Renault Sport 1:46.441 1.688
8 Esteban Ocon Force India 1:46.473 1.720
9 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:46.561 1.808
10 Jolyon Palmer Renault Sport 1:46.670 1.917
11 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:46.743 1.990
12 Sergio Perez Force India 1:46.984 2.231
13 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:47.285 2.532
14 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:47.303 2.550
15 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:47.450 2.697
16 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:47.556 2.803
17 Lance Stroll Williams 1:47.861 3.108
18 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:49.214 4.461
19 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber 1:49.725 4.972
20 Felipe Massa Williams