After taking up from team-mate Sergio Perez for the afternoon session, Verstappen immediately lit up the timesheet within the Crimson Bull RB19 and carved his solution to high spot with a 1m31.650s on the C3 tyres.
The reigning world champion, who additionally spent the whole opening day of the check driving for Crimson Bull on Thursday, was duly additional forward on his check programme as some rivals didn’t swap focus to efficiency operating till the ultimate hour of the day.
With half-hour to go Zhou, who accomplished the complete day within the Alfa Romeo C43, strapped on a set of C5 tyres and posted a 1m31.610s to depose Verstappen by 0.040s.
Mercedes missed the final 90 minutes of observe motion as a result of George Russell suffered a hydraulic failure which left him caught in fourth gear and triggered the one breakdown-related crimson flag.
It left Mercedes stranded on 98 laps for the day, Russell including 26 to team-mate Lewis Hamilton’s 72 from the morning, because the staff investigated the issue and sat out the tip of the afternoon session.
Fernando Alonso put Aston Martin third on the general instances with a 1m32.205s set on the C3 tyres, as he accomplished the second check day alone with team-mate Lance Stroll out injured.
F1 rookie Nyck de Vries was one other driver to check out the softer compounds in the direction of the tip of the day and went fourth utilizing the C4 tyres together with his AlphaTauri.
Max Verstappen, Crimson Bull Racing RB19
Picture by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Nico Hulkenberg lifted Haas to fifth, additionally aided by operating on the C4 compound tyres, to shuffle the Friday morning chief Carlos Sainz to sixth total for Ferrari.
Logan Sargeant impressed for Williams forward of his rookie F1 season by notching up 154 laps – essentially the most of any driver on Friday – to take seventh forward of the sister Ferrari of Charles Leclerc who spent the afternoon totally on race simulation operating.
McLaren’s new signing Oscar Piastri took ninth regardless of the staff’s issues with the MCL60, with team-mate Lando Norris sixteenth having run within the morning session.
Alpine duo Pierre Gasly in eleventh and Esteban Ocon in thirteenth had been break up by the Haas of Kevin Magnussen on the general instances, forward of the Mercedes pair who had been divided by Crimson Bull’s Perez.
The ultimate quarter-hour of each periods had been used for race management procedures, however two late mechanical points appeared to strike Williams and Alfa Romeo within the afternoon session.
Sargeant hopped out of the Williams within the pitlane for a suspected electrical problem the staff was testing, whereas Zhou was recovered from pit exit by the Alfa Romeo mechanics following an engine drawback.
The 2023 F1 pre-season check concludes in Bahrain on Saturday.