Tuscany GP, practice two: Valtteri Bottas ahead, Lando Norris crashes

Bottas 0.2s faster than Hamilton and faster Verstappen; Norris crashes, Kimi and Pérez collide in P2 full of incidents; Leclerc turns and only tenth, while Vettel stops on the track in a difficult session for Ferrari

1:47

Lando Norris crashed into the barriers at turn three during practice two

Valtteri Bottas was fastest ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in a close second practice at the Tuscany GP, which featured costly crashes and spins as the drivers explored the relentless limits of Mugello.

Lando Norris collided heavily with his McLaren, Kimi Raikkonen and Sergio Pérez collided, while both Ferraris spun when Charles Leclerc failed to replicate the promising pace from its start to the team’s historic weekend.

Sebastian Vettel also stopped on the track at the end of the eventful session with a mechanical failure, citing an engine problem.

Leclerc’s disappearance from the sharp end of the timesheets (he finished 10th in the leading Ferrari in P2) meant the F1 2020 heavy hitters made up the top three, with Bottas enjoying a perfect start to the first Tuscan GP.

1:40

Kimi Raikkonen spins his Alfa Romeo on the gravel during Practice Two and the session was red-flagged

Bottas made sure to finish Friday with consecutive fastest times by setting the pace on the soft tire with a 1: 16.989, 0.2 seconds ahead of his Mercedes teammate Hamilton.

“It’s so much fun and really cool,” Bottas said of the circuit. “Once you get past turn one, the whole section with those high-speed chicanes and the second sector is amazing. I really enjoyed every lap today.”

Hamilton added: “I like it. It’s definitely a real challenge. I’m not that good at it yet, but I’m working on it.”

Verstappen was much closer to Mercedes as probably expected on the high-speed, high-downforce circuit, just four hundredths of a second slower than Hamilton.

Bottas, Hamilton and Verstappen enjoyed a great shock with the next fastest car: Alex Albon in the other Red Bull, almost a second off the pace.

Norris crashes, Kimi and Pérez collide

There were many incidents at P2, with two red flags and many driver errors on the demanding circuit, making its long-awaited debut on the F1 calendar.

Leclerc was the first driver to turn, at Turn 12, when he turned his Ferrari onto the gravel, ruining a first lap.

But that was nothing compared to Norris’s big detour, the young Englishman messing with his McLaren front wing after cutting through gravel when it opened slightly at turn three in a qualifying practice race.

1:16

Charles Leclerc crossed his Ferrari and went straight to the gravel at Turn 12 during practice two before the Tuscan GP

That led to a red flag, and Norris, who was fourth from the start, couldn’t get back on track, meaning he finished 14th, albeit just one place behind teammate Carlos Sainz.

“As much as I hated there was gravel when I ended up crashing, it’s better this way,” Norris said. “It’s more complicated, but more challenging, and I think it should be that way.”

After a pirouette from Vettel that finished outside the top 10 in both sessions on Friday, Raikkonen and Perez awkwardly made contact to cause another red flag.

Pérez came out of the pits just as Raikkonen was accelerating into turn one, but despite both drivers appearing to notice, they collided around the corner, with a lot of debris on the track.

The incident is being investigated by the race stewards.

1:27

Late problems for Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel, as the German cannot return to the pits at the end of the session.

P2 then ended with Vettel stepping off to the side of the track as the checkered flag waved, which was a disappointing end to a day of ups and downs for Ferrari, celebrating his 1000th F1 race this weekend.

What is the hierarchical order in Mugello?

Red Bull appears to have reestablished themselves as Mercedes’ closest rivals over the weekend.

“It was a good day,” Verstappen said. “We can be quite satisfied with the behavior of the car. We were not too far behind Mercedes, so that was a good thing.”

But behind them is much harder to predict, not helped by Ferrari’s confusing pace and McLaren’s troubles.

Renault was fifth and sixth, with Daniel Ricciardo ahead of Esteban Ocon, while Sergio Pérez made sure that the imagined Racing Point had at least one car in the top 10.

AlphaTauri’s man of the moment, Pierre Gasly, was eighth, while Raikkonen was surprisingly quicker than Leclerc in the Ferrari-powered Alfa Romeo.