Valtteri Bottas topped the FP2 timesheet for the second consecutive race, pipping the Red Bull duo at the Formula 1 season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Bottas posted a 1m37.236s benchmark on his hypersoft qualifying simulation to vault to the top of the timesheet, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton provisionally held second place.
However, following on from the team’s one-two finish in FP1, Red Bull factored towards the top of the times.
Max Verstappen split the two Mercedes, recording what was at that point the session-best time through sector three despite having run wide at Turn 20 and been compromised by both traffic at the final corner and premature energy harvesting.
Contrary to the majority, Verstappen proceeded to improve on his second timed effort, drawing to 0.044s of Bottas’ benchmark.
Verstappen’s team-mate Daniel Ricciardo also improved on his second lap. He eclipsed Verstappen’s purple sector three in the process and ended up within two-tenths of Bottas overall.
Hamilton was beaten by his team-mate for the second consecutive session. He was 0.207s adrift having suffered off-track moments during the session, including an early lock-up and trip to the Turn 11 run-off area.
Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel improved on their FP1 showing but finished fifth and sixth respectively. Both were among the first drivers to post their qualifying simulation times.
Haas once again outlined its best of the rest credentials, with Romain Grosjean ending up seventh, while team-mate Kevin Magnussen was ninth. The pair was split by Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg.
Pierre Gasly’s session was not compromised by his late-session gearbox fire in FP1. The team replaced the unit in between sessions and the Frenchman drove to 11th on the timesheet behind his compatriot Esteban Ocon.
Despite finishing 19th on the timesheet in FP1, Fernando Alonso climbed to 13th in second practice in what is set to be his final weekend in Formula 1.
Ferrari-bound Charles Leclerc ran wide at Turn 20, aggressively bouncing over the top of the sausage kerb twice. Verstappen had previously beached his car on the top of the tall kerb, sending him wide at Turn 21 as drivers continued to experiment with the corner exit.
