On his 29th birthday, Sainz topped second practice by 0.019s from McLaren’s Lando Norris in an eventful session stalled by two red flags; the first early on for Lance Stroll stopping with a suspected fuel system issue in his Aston Martin and the second late in the session for Sergio Perez crashing at the Parabolica.
Despite his crash, Perez called his day his “best Friday in a while” as he looks to regain confidence and momentum in his Red Bull. The Mexican finished FP2 third overall, ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in fourth and Max Verstappen in fifth.
