Less than a tenth of a second covered Max Verstappen and both Mercedes drivers in Practice 2 at the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday.
The Red Bull's strong pace in the middle sector was just enough to overcome the straight-line speed advantage of the W12 at the start and end of the 7km lap at Spa-Francorchamps.
Furthermore, the extra downforce on the Dutchman's RB16B saw him able to extract more pace from the soft tyre, while neither Valtteri Bottas nor Lewis Hamilton improved on the red-striped compound.
Despite leading, Verstappen's session would end in the barrier at Malmedy after losing the rear on the exit and breaking the right-rear suspension.
Max is ok, but his car has been quite badly damaged by the look of things
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 27, 2021
The session will not restart#BelgianGP 🇧🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/EvYPqfZ5A6
Fernando Alonso sat four-tenths behind the leading trio in fourth, fractionally ahead of Pierre Gasly, who continued his impressive form in the AlphaTauri.
Aston Martin showed their traditional strength at Spa with Lance Stroll sixth and Sebastian Vettel eighth, either side of Esteban Ocon in the second Alpine.
Lando Norris was ninth as Sergio Perez, who was confirmed at Red Bull for 2022 between the sessions, ended almost a second slower again in P10.
Ferrari had a tricky afternoon with Carlos Sainz 11th and Charles Leclerc 18th after also crashing at Malmedy just minutes before Verstappen.
🚩 RED FLAG 🚩
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 27, 2021
Leclerc goes into the barriers coming out of Turn 6 💥
He's out of the car 👍#BelgianGP 🇧🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/WYerZJkoEC
Both Alfa Romeo's led Daniel Ricciardo in P13-15, while Nicholas Latifi outpaced Williams teammate George Russell in 16th and 17th respectively.
At Haas, Nikita Mazepin led Mick Schumacher for the second straight session as the pair brought up the field.
An eventful second practice highlighted just how quickly Spa can bite with a small mistake.
The margins at the front are also among the smallest seen all season on what is the longest lap of the year in terms of distance.
All that, plus the uncertainty over the weather, teases an incredible Belgian GP weekend to come.
Full results from Practice 2 can be seen below:
