First practice for this weekend's French Grand Prix saw the drivers finding – and often going over – the limit, with spins aplenty at the Circuit Paul Ricard on Friday morning, while FP2 was a far more straighforward affair.
Max Verstappen ran wide over the tricky Turn 2 kerbs and damaged his front wing – with Race Control activating a Virtual Safety Car period to allow the debris to be recovered – but other than that it was largely smooth running in the French sunshine, as Verstappen shrugged off that mistake to go quickest of all.
FP2 REPORT: Verstappen tops second practice at Paul Ricard, just 0.008s quicker than Bottas
The Dutchman may have topped the time sheets for Red Bull, but it was Valtteri Bottas who might be ending the day happiest after he was fastest in FP1, and then second quickest in FP2 – despite running the medium tyres, with Verstappen on softs.
Behind Bottas was Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton, then Fernando Alonso – an excellent fourth fastest for home team Alpine – and Charles Leclerc for Ferrari.
Hit play on the video above to see all the key bits of action from second practice, before the fight for pole position gets under way on Saturday.
Next Up
Related Articles
The 5 most dramatic storylines of 2026 so far
Antonelli opens up on impact of 2025 struggles
Our writers reflect on the 2026 season so far
What to look forward to when F1 returns after the break
UnlockedAsk Max Verstappen a question in our exclusive reader Q&A
Mercedes explain what led to Russell’s P6-P21 start in Hungary