Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas stayed on top during the second practice session for the British Grand Prix, narrowly ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton breezed clear of the pack on the Soft tyre runs in the second 90-minute practice session at a cool and cloudy Silverstone, setting a 1:28.543, before the leaders switched to the Supersoft compound.
Bottas edged ahead on a 1:28.496, before Hamilton scuppered his Supersoft run by sliding wide through Becketts, costing himself a substantial chunk of lap time.
Hamilton was unable to improve overall, meaning his best time remained his earlier run on Soft tyres, the Mercedes duo consequently separated by just 0.047s.
Having lagged behind Red Bull during the morning session, Ferrari established itself as Mercedes’ primary challengers, with Kimi Räikkönen third, 0.332s behind compatriot Bottas.
Räikkönen, however, suffered a wild moment during his long-fuel run, his car snapping sideways as he rounded Becketts, spinning into the gravel as a result, though he was able to rejoin the action.
Title leader Sebastian Vettel followed in fourth place, a further tenth of a second down on his Ferrari team-mate.
Red Bull was fifth and sixth, returning to its perennial 2017 positions, though Max Verstappen was within reach of the Ferrari pair, while Daniel Ricciardo was cut adrift.
Nico Hülkenberg completed his low-fuel Super Soft lap relatively later than his midfield rivals and emerged in seventh place for Renault.
Felipe Massa was eighth for Williams, the Brazilian having spun through Chapel on his high fuel run.
Race Control is also investigating an incident involving Massa and Verstappen, after the pair almost tripped over each other through Club.
Fernando Alonso (McLaren) and Esteban Ocon (Force India) completed the top 10, ahead of Toro Rosso pair Carlos Sainz Jr. and Daniil Kvyat.
Sergio Pérez took 13th, in front of Haas’ Romain Grosjean, Williams youngster Lance Stroll and McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne.
Kevin Magnussen returned to action for Haas, having missed FP1 in favour of Antonio Giovinazzi, and placed 17th, while Jolyon Palmer spun exiting Brooklands en route to a low-key 18th.
Sauber finished 19th and 20th for the fifth successive free practice session, with Marcus Ericsson seven-tenths slower than nearest opponent Palmer, as Pascal Wehrlein rounded out the runners.
