Leclerc leads surprise Ferrari 1-2 in Zandvoort FP2 as Hamilton stops on track

Charles Leclerc was the surprise pace-setter in the second practice session at the Dutch Grand Prix, whilst championship leader Lewis Hamilton stopped out on track due to an engine issue.

Five minutes into the session, Hamilton reported a loss of power and was told to bring his car to a halt at Turn 8.

It was the second problem for a Mercedes power unit on Friday after Sebastian Vettel had a suspected engine failure in FP1.

Leclerc went to the top of the timesheets with 20 minutes remaining on the C3 Soft tyre, setting a 1:10.902 on a sunny afternoon at Zandvoort.

Carlos Sainz underlined Ferrari's pace by going just 0.154 seconds slower than Leclerc in second position. The Ferrari car was particularly strong in the middle of the lap, through the high-speed sequence of corners.

Prior to Leclerc's and Sainz's qualifying simulations, Alpine's Esteban Ocon was the driver to beat as he posted a 1:11.074 to pip Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas by 0.058 seconds.

Max Verstappen's first Soft tyre run was compromised by a spin for Nikita Mazepin at Turn 11. The Haas driver lost control and beached his car in the gravel trap to cause a second red flag in the session.

Verstappen's best lap was only good enough for fifth in his Red Bull, despite being on the same C4 Soft tyre as the drivers in front of him.

Fernando Alonso provided more evidence of Alpine's strong pace in sixth, with AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly in seventh and McLaren's Lando Norris in eighth.

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Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi was another standout driver in ninth, just seven-tenths off Leclerc's fastest time.

Aston Martin fixed Vettel's car in time for FP2 as the four-time F1 World Champion got some key mileage under his belt on his way to 10th place.

Despite his stoppage, Hamilton finished the afternoon in 11th with his best time coming on the C2 Medium tyre compound early in the session.

Sergio Perez had a disappointing day down in 12th for Red Bull, whilst Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll and Daniel Ricciardo struggled to fully get to grips with the new track.

The action at Zandvoort resumes with FP3 at 11:00 (UK time) on Saturday, before qualifying at 14:00 (UK time).