Summary VT2 American GP: Annoyed Verstappen shows Hamilton the middle finger and does not record a fast lap, Perez fastest

Max Verstappen shows Lewis Hamilton the middle finger and calls his title rival a “stupid idiot” during VT2. The two title rivals clashed in a brief ‘fight’ during second practice for the United States Grand Prix. Verstappen does not come to a fast lap after he independently decides to go to the pit lane after failing to get a free track without traffic. He expresses his annoyance about the positioning on the track via the on-board radio, after which he breaks off his stint on soft rubber and heads for the pit lane. In the end, the Dutchman does not record a fast lap and hangs on the eighth fastest time of Friday afternoon.

Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez is significantly less affected by the conditions. The Mexican sends the Red Bull car to the fastest time in VT2. This puts Perez Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton too fast.

Big gaping gap between Mercedes and Red Bull on Friday morning

During the second free practice session, the men’s drivers and their teams will want to get the cars up to speed for the American F1 GP. At COTA, Valtteri Bottas’ W12 turned out to be 0.932 seconds per lap faster than Verstappen’s RB16B on Friday morning. There were also striking differences and shifts in the results of the first free practice behind the two competing top teams. McLaren operated outside the top ten while Ferrari seems to be connecting with Red Bull. Both Alfa Romeos are also off to a strong start: Giovinazzi and Räikkönen set the ninth and tenth fastest times respectively in Austin, Texas.

Radiant sun in VT2

The race weekend at the Circuit Of The Americas started under a radiant sun and that continues in VT2. The air temperature is 29 degrees Celsius, while the temperature of the asphalt rises to 38 degrees Celsius. You can chat via this link. An extensive summary of the first free practice via this link.

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After ten minutes of training, Valtteri Bottas’ name is again at the top. Perez and Verstappen are only a tenth short of the Mercedes in this phase, if Perez records the fastest time for the time being. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are actually having a fight with each other. The championship contenders ‘race’ wheel-to-wheel towards the first corner. Hamilton has the inside, while Verstappen doesn’t seem to ‘give up’ just like that. Verstappen still lets Hamilton go, perhaps partly because of a slow-moving car halfway through the bend.

“Stupid idiot”

However, Verstappen is not charmed by the unexpected fight and the possibly unsatisfactory outcome. “Stupid idiot”, it sounds through a rare uncensored Verstappen on-board radio. Verstappen scolds his rival for the world title with the middle finger.

Order of battle after 20 minutes of training

After twenty minutes of training, Perez is the fastest for the time being, ahead of Bottas, Verstappen, Hamilton, Norris, Sainz, Leclerc, Ricciardo and Vettel. Outside the top ten are Gasly, Räikkönen, Latifi, Giovinazzi, Alonso, Tsunoda, Ocon, Russell, Schumacher, Mazepin.

Max Verstappen complains about the on-board radio that it is badly positioned and that it is again bothered by traffic. “I’m coming to the pit box. F**K this”, he says while the TV director is now partly censoring Verstappen’s words again. The Limburger decides to drive to his team again and comes onto the track a little later for a longer stint on mediums. Both Perez and Verstappen practice a start. Nicholas Latifi struggles into corner fourteen.

Inconveniences in the cockpit

Nikita Mazepin is startled by a colleague coming out of the pit lane and complains that it is almost impossible to achieve a fast lap on the American tarmac. While Lance Stroll complains about something in his eyes, Esteban Ocon tells his teammates that something in the cockpit is hitting his legs. Ricciardo and Norris were still outside the top ten during the morning session, now the team from Woking seems to have found the speed. Norris sets a provisional second time with fifteen minutes to go, while Ricciardo then drives the fifth fastest car for the time being.

Perez fastest for now

In the final minutes, Sergio Perez still has the fastest time for the time being, ahead of Norris and Hamilton. Bottas, Ricciardo, Stroll and Leclerc are also faster than Verstappen. The Dutchman does seventeen laps on the medium rubber. In the last minutes he also enters the track on soft rubber, but even then the Limburger does not record a clocked lap.

Fernando Alonso spins and hits the tire stacks

Alonso’s Alpine does not do what the Spaniard would have wanted in the nineteenth corner. Alonso spins off the track at high speed and hits the boarding. The Spaniard is close to the pit lane and can still drive there independently. Giovinazzi stops his car – after the flag has fallen – along the track. Why he does that is not clear. You can see the result VT2 below.