Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel eclipsed Formula 1 title rival Lewis Hamilton to lead the way during the second practice session for the British Grand Prix.
Points leader Vettel set a best time of 1:27.552, slower than Hamilton’s benchmark in the first session, to beat the home representative by just 0.187s.
Friday afternoon’s session took place in hot and sunny conditions, with the temperature on the resurfaced track reaching over 50 degrees as drivers embarked on qualifying simulations, with many running wide through Club corner to take the ideal line.
Hamilton’s first lap on Softs was a scruffy affair as he had a moment through the exit of The Loop but he pressed on for another effort and vaulted from fourth to second, F1's top two finishing the session in current championship order.
Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen finished third and fourth respectively, while outside title contenders Red Bull had a more difficult session.
Daniel Ricciardo placed only fifth, 0.856s behind Vettel, while Max Verstappen crashed out of the session on only his second lap.
The Dutchman lost control of his RB14 on the exit of Luffield and caused rear-right damage to the car, resulting in the session being briefly halted.
Fernando Alonso provided a much-needed fillip for McLaren as he led the midfield contingent in sixth place, nine-tenths adrift of Ricciardo and 1.7s down on leader Vettel.
Alonso was closely followed by Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and the Force India pair of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez, as Sauber's Charles Leclerc rounded out the top 10, via a spin through Brooklands.
Renault's Carlos Sainz Jr. was edged out by Leclerc by just 0.006s, while Kevin Magnussen finished within a tenth of the duo in the sole-surviving Haas car, having been cleared of wrongdoing after an alleged FP1 misdemeanour.
Pierre Gasly placed 13th but halted his Toro Rosso at The Loop with half an hour remaining in the session amid an issue on a power unit that was high on mileage and due to be changed this evening anyway.
Marcus Ericsson was 14th while Lance Stroll was unable to replicate the top 10 pace he displayed in FP1, finishing 15th, with Williams team-mate Sergey Sirotkin one position behind.
Stoffel Vandoorne and Brendon Hartley finished in 17th and 18th respectively, with Verstappen not setting a timed lap and Romain Grosjean a non-starter after his earlier crash.
Saturday’s one-hour third practice session will take place at 11:00 local time
