Max Verstappen says he was left "guessing" during second practice for the British Grand Prix due to the day's mixed weather conditions. Drivers were greeted with a damp track surface for FP1 at Silverstone, with Intermediate tyres used for most of the opening session. However, several teams - including Red Bull - severely restricted their running in the wet, with Verstappen completing only three untimed laps. As such, the Dutchman found himself slightly out of sync with his rivals from Ferrari and Mercedes at the start of FP2.
Verstappen on building up speed at Silverstone
Verstappen ultimately wound up fourth fastest, a couple of tenths off the pace set by Ferrari's Carlos Sainz. Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris also slotted ahead in their respective Mercedes and McLaren machines. Giving his reaction at the end of the day, Verstappen said: "It's always a bit tricky after not driving in FP1; for everyone, FP2 becomes a lot more... a bit of guessing, let's say it like that. "Normally in FP1 you just build it up. It was maybe not ideal, but also not a big, big issue. I think we know what we have to work on and that's what we'll try to do overnight. "Tomorrow probably it's raining, so you have again different kinds of conditions, but it was okay." As for how missing a session can put a team on the backfoot, he added: "It's a bit of hit and miss. Sometimes it works for you, sometimes [it's] maybe not amazing. This time probably it was not amazing, but the results are not really bad."
Verstappen sees tyres as the key to success
Looking ahead to the remainder of the weekend, Verstappen has targeted gains in terms of tyre management. "We're still in there and there's still a few things to look at with the tyres as well," he continued. "[We did] a few laps [on high fuel] with the softest compound. I think it's alright, it's just around here with all the high-speed corners, the tyres in general wear a lot, so it was always going to be quite tricky to manage the tyres." In terms of Ferrari's early pace-setting performance, Verstappen signed off: "Every weekend they are fast, so it's not a surprise." Verstappen's teammate, Sergio Perez, finished FP2 back in seventh position.
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