Lando Norris made it a home one-two at the end of Friday practice for the British Grand Prix but will be mindful of the threat being posed by Ferrari this weekend.
Lewis Hamilton surprisingly led the way at the end of FP1, the first time the seven-time F1 champion has topped a practice session this season since joining Ferrari.
And it was no fluke, as Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc finished third and second fastest respectively at the end of the second hour of running at Silverstone.
Neither driver put in a solid first lap on the soft tyres, with both drivers instead relying on their second runs for their best laps, with Leclerc closest to McLaren driver Norris, finishing two-tenths of a second off the Briton's timesheet-topping 1:25.816s.
Championship leader Oscar Piastri had to settle for fourth, 0.470s behind team-mate Norris. It is only the second time in 12 grands prix this season that the Australian has finished outside the top three at the end of FP2.
Result Free practice 2 - British
Verstappen off the pace
With the focus during the first part of the session on quick laps on the medium-compound tyres, it was Hamilton who led the way.
A 1:26.902s proved to be the leading time for a period before team-mate Leclerc edged ahead, only for the 40-year-old Briton to power past by three-tenths of a second with a 1:28.592s.
Fifteen minutes in, an unhappy Verstappen complained that his front tyres at high speed were not responding, that message coming shortly before a spin from Carlos Sainz in his Williams.
Sat in the middle of the circuit between Luffield and Woodcote, and side on to the line of the track, Sainz set off again with Nico Hulkenberg approaching in his Stake, albeit slowly and in no danger of a collision.
The stewards, however, determined that the incident warrants further investigation, and they will review it later.
Once the soft-tyre running kicked in, the Mercedes duo of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell spearheaded the way, with the rookie finishing 0.321s ahead of his more experienced team-mate with a 1:26.383s.
Leclerc then took over with a 1:26.202s, followed by Piastri finishing 0.084s adrift, before Norris became the first, and only driver to dip below 86 seconds with his 1:25.816s, 0.386s ahead of the Monégasque.
After backing out of his first lap on softs after setting a personal best in the first sector, following a cool-down, and on a follow-up run on the same rubber, Hamilton slotted into second, 0.301s down.
Despite complaining of issues with his front-left, Leclerc's second lap saw him finish 0.222s behind Norris.
Verstappen managed fifth, albeit half a second back, followed by Lance Stroll in an Aston Martin sporting an upgrade package that includes a new floor.
The Canadian finished four-tenths of a second ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso in 12th.
Sandwiched between the two were Russell, Racing Bulls duo Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson, with Williams' Alex Albon 11th.
In the second Red Bull, and after sitting out FP1 to give junior Arvid Lindblad his first run out in F1, Yuki Tsunoda struggled again, finishing 0.666s adrift of Verstappen, and 1.164s behind Norris.
Alpine's Franco Colapinto was slowest, 1.473s off the pace.
On long run pace, Ferrari looked strong and should provide McLaren a firm challenge on Sunday.
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