German F1 Grand Prix 2019 Qualifying: Results, Times from Friday's Practice

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc led the way in second practice on Friday at the Formula One German Grand Prix.

The Monegasque driver was on form in the afternoon and able to get the better of team-mate Sebastian Vettel by 0.124 seconds. Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton finished FP2 in third.

The session capped off a strong day for Ferrari, as they enjoyed a 1-2 in the first practice runs, too, with Vettel topping the timesheets on that occasion. After Valtteri Bottas spun in his Mercedes in the morning, Red Bull's Pierre Gasly continued his poor season with a big crash in FP2, ending his session early.

Here is a recap of the action from Hockenheim on what was an encouraging day for the Scuderia.

FP2 Recap

Here are the times from the second session of the day:

After a season of mixed fortunes, the signs are positive for Ferrari heading into the weekend, as they were able to showcase speed in both their long runs and single-lap efforts.

Vettel was the man to beat in the morning, but Leclerc showed he's in a groove in the afternoon. The youngster is beginning to settle into the role of being a Ferrari driver, with four podiums in his last four races, and he was able to get quicker throughout the day in Germany.

Per Pirelli Motorsport, Leclerc was able to better the quickest mark set at this stage a year ago:

The only blip on the day for Ferrari came during this pitstop:

Vettel would have also been pleased with a solid day in the car, as there's little to choose between the German and his team-mate ahead of final practice and qualifying.

Mercedes have ground to make up, although they have typically found a way of doing so either in qualifying or on race day. 

Ferrari saw both of their major rivals make errors on Friday, with Gasly's crash bringing out a red flag:

The Frenchman appeared to have recovered some form with a third-place finish in his previous race at Silverstone, but the mistake in FP2 on Thursday will not do his confidence any good.

FP1 Recap

Here are the FP1 results:

Vettel finished 16th at the British Grand Prix two weeks ago and will be motivated to give a better response in front of a home crowd.

He languished in ninth approaching the last 15 minutes of FP1, but changing to the soft tyres provided the increase in pace he needed to slash his time.

Vettel spoke to the media on Thursday and touched on just how close he is to his roots, not to mention the pressures that come with that proximity:

Mercedes duo Hamilton and Bottas stayed on mediums until the end of the practice in the morning, keeping back their best pace.

Red Bull showed promise as Max Verstappen and Gasly finished FP1 fourth and sixth, respectively, with Bottas sandwiched between them in fifth.

Verstappen joked about the hot conditions in Baden-Wurttemberg while first practice was ongoing:

Carlos Sainz moved a McLaren into third with about 30 minutes left in the session after he transitioned to the softs, with him and team-mate Lando Norris yet to finish in the top five of a race this season. He ended FP1 in seventh, just ahead of Romain Grosjean in eighth.

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen slid at Turn 8 to delay his practice further, having been the cause of a red-flag stoppage earlier in the morning when his car came to a sudden halt.

Nico Hulkenberg is the other German set to compete in Sunday's race. However, the Renault driver appeared to have car trouble and told his team there "must be a problem" over radio near the end of the session.

Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo brought an entertaining end to the session with spins off and on the track, respectively, though each were able to rescue and steer back on course.