McLaren Formula 1 junior Nyck de Vries topped the Formula 2 practice session at Spa-Francorchamps, ahead of Hungaroring round polesitter Sergio Sette Camara.
Prema Racing’s de Vries vaulted to the top of the timesheet with a 1m58.125s benchmark.
Sette Camara, who had posted his personal best in the minutes prior to de Vries’s fastest time, was edged into second place by a slender 0.010s.
De Vries has yet to secure a pole position in F2. Sette Camara earned the first of his career at the previous round of the season at the Hungaroring.
All 20 drivers posted their personal best lap times within the first 20 minutes of the session, as teams followed the typical programme and focussed on long-run performance during the second half of the 45-minute practice.
Most drivers did post two attempts during their short run evaluations, but the majority – including de Vries and Sette Camara – failed to improve on their second laps.
For instance, third-placed George Russell, who enters this weekend as the championship leader, threatened to improve upon his 1m58.600s with a session-best sector one time on his second attempt, but he failed to improve overall after losing time in the longer second and third splits.
Currently 12 points adrift of Russell in the drivers’ standings, Lando Norris ended the session in fourth. Norris entered practice having just completed F1 FP1 replacing Fernando Alonso at McLaren for the 90-minute session.
MP Motorsport’s Ralph Boschung managed to go faster on his second timed attempt, jumping up to fifth place. He demoted Luca Ghiotto to sixth on the timesheet.
Boschung suffered a snap of oversteer at the left-hander Turn 9 and narrowly avoided the barriers after running on the astroturf.
Alongside Boschung at MP Motorsport for the first time this weekend after replacing Roberto Merhi, Dorian Boccolacci ended his first F2 session in 15th. The GP3 race winner was only 1.3s adrift of de Vries’s benchmark pace.
Alexander Albon finished the session in eighth place. The DAMS driver locked up at the Bus Stop chicane and ran wide during his long-run evaluation.
