Hamilton tops FP2 ahead of Bottas and Verstappen
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Lewis Hamilton established Mercedes' dominance this weekend as the Silver Arrows secured yet another one-two during FP2 of the Spanish Grand Prix. Max Verstappen completed the top three despite being outside of it for most of the quick laps.
Hamilton set a 1:16.883 to top the session with his teammate, Valtteri Bottas 0.2 seconds down in second. The gap back to Verstappen however, was significantly bigger with the Dutchman 0.821 down in third. Verstappen benefitted from the hot conditions and Mercedes' tyre struggles last weekend but it looks as if the World Championship leaders have fixed their issues and are once again the standard of the field.
Romain Grosjean was the surprise package in FP2 as he secured a P5 finish in FP2. The Frenchman showed signs for optimism for Haas who have struggled this season but Kevin Magnussen wasn't so fortunate as he finished down in 16th place.
Daniel Ricciardo (P4), Charles Leclerc (P6), Carlos Sainz (P7), Sergio Perez (P8), Esteban Ocon (P9) and Pierre Gasly (P10) rounded out the top ten. Mexican Perez was making only his second appearance in a Racing Point since testing positive for Covid-19 on the eve of the British Grand Prix.
It was another disappointing session for Alex Albon who was only fast enough for P13. It was a familiar story at the back of the grid as Alfa Romeo and Williams propped up the table. George Russell ultimately finished bottom after he reported it felt like he was "driving on ice" late in the session.
Mercedes will feel very confident that they have put their woes from last week behind them and will be looking to resume their dominance again.