During Free Practice 2, all teams would further unlock their engine power limits to conduct long-run stability tests. However, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, and Red Bull didn't care about the medium tires at all, still persisting with long-run tests on the soft tires.
Wu Shi's strategy tended to align with Mercedes-Benz. However, Massa made a braking error on the seventh lap and crashed head-on into the wall.
Jonathan's voice came through the Team Radio. "Wu Shi, we might need to test an extra set of tires."
"Understood."
Without long runs, testing the medium tires would likely yield no meaningful data. Therefore, after pushing for a quick two laps, Wu Shi pitted under team orders to switch to the mediums for a long-run test.
Shortly after, Kvyat also had an accident, ending his practice session.
Ultimately, Hamilton took first place with a time of 1:37.219—an improvement of 1.8 seconds over Free Practice 1. He made it look completely effortless.
