Belgian GP Friday practice

12:08 Driver, Team
Leclerc,Ferrari
Vettel,Ferrari
Bottas,Mercedes
Hamilton, Mercedes
Perez,Racing Point
Verstappen, Red Bull
Raikkonen,Alfa Romeo
Stroll,Racing Point
Ricciardo,Renault
Albon, Red Bull

17:39 That's it for our Friday practice coverage at Spa. Thanks for joining us for FP2, we'll be back tomorrow morning from 10.45am UK time for coverage of final practice.

Belgian Grand Prix practice: Leclerc fastest in Ferrari one-two

Charles Leclerc headed a Ferrari one-two in the second Formula 1 free practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix, comfortably ahead of Sebastian Vettel

17:34 For the sake of completion, race control has declared the track is clear.

17:33 "It's the same thing as I said at the last race, with the virtual safety car when you are very slow, the delta updates very slowly," says Leclerc, who ends FP2 on top for Ferrari.

17:31 Perez is still standing in the gravel, looking forlornly at the Racing Point. Hello darkness my old friend.

17:29 The session has now been red flagged and, with a little over a minute left on the clock, race control says it will not be restarted.

17:28 Couldn't quite make out what Perez said over the team radio, but it involved "engine" and "I need to stop". Both Racing Points have the updated Mercedes engine, too.

17:26 Oh no! It's Perez. There's a small fire around the exhaust area of the Racing Point.

17:25 We have a virtual safety car in place - we're yet to see what the issue is, though.

17:25

17:25 Bottas looks pretty handy on this medium-shod run, as does that man again - Sergio Perez. His first lap was a 1m50.192s, and his second is a 1m49.987s in the Racing Point.

17:21

Leclerc tackling Eau Rouge/Radillon a little earlier

17:20 Leclerc's pace also looks pretty tidy on mediums. He's in the mid-1m50s.

17:19

17:19 "Pace generally has been good," Racing Point tells Perez, and it's not wrong. He was still in the low 1m51s before he brought his soft-shod run to an end to swap to mediums.

17:18 "I think I have the same thing again," says Verstappen, who's talking about that power problem he mentioned after his first set of flying laps. He's been in and out of the pits since, and swapped to mediums.

17:17 Mercedes' pace looks pretty good - both Hamilton and Bottas were still in the 1m50s 10 laps into their stint. Bottas has now swapped to mediums.

17:15 Listened in to Stroll's radio after that "burning" smell he complained about. Curious exchange:

LS: It smells like there’s something burning through.

Engineer: Is it all through the lap Lance?

LS: Yes, it’s all through the lap.

When he returned to the pits he was told not to stop on his marks but pull over outside the garage.

LS: Yeah, it's burning quite a bit.

Engineer: Copy that Lance. We may need to get you out. We'll have to get the seat out, I should think.

Would think that's the end of his running now.

Scott Mitchell

17:13 Stroll reports it "smells like something is burning" in the cockpit of his Racing Point. He pits now.

17:12 Leclerc had a relatively short run on softs and now has mediums bolted on his Ferrari. How will that pace compare to the softs?

17:09 Hamilton snatches at the brake and runs deep at the Bus Stop chicane. No real harm done though.

17:08 Verstappen is also on a soft-shod long run and pumps in a 1m50.208s on his first go. Albon is trying mediums in the sister Red Bull.

17:07 Hamilton appears the fastest of the top four right now, though Bottas has just put in a 1m50.499s on his sixth lap (compared to a 1m50.746s for Hamilton).

17:05 "There's not a lot of deg, but your pace has been good in the first few laps," Perez is told. He's running in the low-1m51s now.

17:05 "This doesn't feel good. I can't get in the 1m50s," says Hulkenberg. That's reflected on these runs, though team-mate Daniel Ricciardo is comfortably in that target bracket in the other Renault.

17:01 1m50s seem to be the aim of the game right now. Hamilton sets a 1m50.350s, Bottas a 1m50.774s, and Vettel a 1m50.540s.

17:01

17:00 The top five (which includes Perez) are all out on track now, as it happens. They've all got softs on, too.

16:59 Bottas is the first of the frontrunners to start a long run. His first effort is a 1m50.571s.

16:58 Perez's long-run lap gets a mention by virtue of being the first one we've seen. It's a 1m50.415s for the Racing Point.

16:51

16:51 And the rest: 11 Sainz; 12 Grosjean; 13 Hulkenberg; 14 Kvyat; 15 Norris; 16 Giovinazzi; 17 Gasly; 18 Magnussen; 19 Russell; 20 Kubica.

16:50 Midway through FP2 (and, presumably, with performance runs out of the way), here's the order: 1 Leclerc; 2 Vettel; 3 Bottas; 4 Hamilton; 5 Perez; 6 Verstappen; 7 Raikkonen; 8 Stroll; 9 Ricciardo; 10 Albon.

16:49 "Do you think we can do two cool-down [laps] because for me the rears are too hot?" Gasly asks. Toro Rosso OKs that request.

16:48 Verstappen is 1.8s off the pace and stays sixth, while Albon is also slower than his best and in now down to 10th.

16:47 Verstappen's first sector isn't a personal best - in fact, he's 1.1s off the pace. Albon is improving on his second timed run though.

16:45 Raikkonen, who's seventh, is told "we can have one more go" after reporting "traffic was [insert expletive here]".

16:45 Still on 'Albon-watch' in FP2. A little lock-up at La Source meant Albon was slower in the first sector despite switching to the soft tyres, and in the final sector he was without a tow – had a monster one on his first lap on mediums.

He's eighth-fastest but should vault the leading midfield runners quite comfortably once he strings it all together. Some more radio difficulties at the start of this run but it seemed to clear up quite quickly.

Scott Mitchell

16:45 Verstappen, still running a little out of sync with the others, is preparing for his flying lap now.

16:44 Albon's taking a bit of time to get up to speed in the Red Bull in FP2. He puts in a personal best, but is only eighth on his first run on the softs, 1.6s off the pace.