F2 Spa: McLaren junior de Vries tops practice to continue resurgence
McLaren Formula 1 junior Nyck de Vries continued his resurgent form by ending George Russell's spell of three fastest Formula 2 practice sessions in a row at Spa
With the track not yet rubbered-in, drivers scrambled for grip in the Ardennes mountains as oversteer afflicted most of the field.
Prema driver de Vries - who fought back and passed Lando Norris for victory in the Budapest feature race last month - set his fastest time of 1m58.125s early on.
None of the frontrunners improved on their later laps, with all of the leading times coming on the first set of flying runs.
Hungaroring polesitter Sergio Sette Camara was just 0.010 seconds down on De Vries' time, with Mercedes junior Russell third quickest and four tenths adrift.
Sette Camara' Carlin team-mate Norris had just 25 minutes to change his overalls, helmet and gloves after making his McLaren F1 practice debut on a grand prix weekend.
After beating Stoffel Vandoorne in the McLaren, he was fourth in the F2 session ahead of Ralph Boschung of MP Motorsport.
Italian drivers took the next two spots, with Luca Ghiotto (Campos) and Charouz Racing System's Antonio Fuoco both seven tenths off the leader.
Alexander Albon will need to improve in qualifying from eighth if he is to overall Russell and Norris in the championship from third, while Arden's Maxi Gunther and Russell's ART Grand Prix team-mate Jack Aitken rounded out the top 10.
Artem Markelov, last year's Spa feature race winner albeit after Charles Leclerc and Oliver Rowland had been disqualified, managed 11th.
The only newcomer in the field - GP3 graduate Dorian Boccolacci - took 15th in his first session with MP Motorsport after replacing Roberto Merhi.
Practice times
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nyck de Vries | Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing | 1m58.125s | - | 13 |
| 2 | Sergio Sette Camara | Carlin | 1m58.135s | 0.010s | 16 |
| 3 | George Russell | ART Grand Prix | 1m58.600s | 0.475s | 17 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | Carlin | 1m58.779s | 0.654s | 16 |
| 5 | Ralph Boschung | MP Motorsport | 1m58.794s | 0.669s | 15 |
| 6 | Luca Ghiotto | Campos Vexatec Racing | 1m58.840s | 0.715s | 17 |
| 7 | Antonio Fuoco | Charouz Racing System | 1m58.873s | 0.748s | 16 |
| 8 | Alexander Albon | DAMS | 1m59.104s | 0.979s | 15 |
| 9 | Maximilian Guenther | BWT Arden | 1m59.147s | 1.022s | 16 |
| 10 | Jack Aitken | ART Grand Prix | 1m59.186s | 1.061s | 17 |
| 11 | Artem Markelov | RUSSIAN TIME | 1m59.241s | 1.116s | 15 |
| 12 | Nicholas Latifi | DAMS | 1m59.339s | 1.214s | 16 |
| 13 | Louis Deletraz | Charouz Racing System | 1m59.448s | 1.323s | 16 |
| 14 | Sean Gelael | Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing | 1m59.458s | 1.333s | 15 |
| 15 | Dorian Boccolacci | MP Motorsport | 1m59.490s | 1.365s | 15 |
| 16 | Arjun Maini | Trident | 1m59.643s | 1.518s | 16 |
| 17 | Nirei Fukuzumi | BWT Arden | 1m59.757s | 1.632s | 15 |
| 18 | Tadasuke Makino | RUSSIAN TIME | 2m00.360s | 2.235s | 13 |
| 19 | Alessio Lorandi | Trident | 2m00.793s | 2.668s | 17 |
| 20 | Roy Nissany | Campos Vexatec Racing | 2m00.816s | 2.691s | 15 |
Ex-F1 driver Roberto Merhi splits with MP Formula 2 team
F2 Spa: De Vries beats Russell to secure first series pole
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