Norris ended the session more than three-tenths up on his team-mate as Sergio Perez rounded out the top three in a mixed session.

Differing priorities and programmes mixed up the order, with Daniel Ricciardo only 19th and more than a second off the pace.

Predicted rain in the latter part of the session saw a busy start as teams looked to get their running done early on.

All regular drivers were back behind the wheel of their cars after four rookies took part in Free Practice 1.

That saw Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), and Logan Sargeant (Williams) back at the wheel.

Verstappen was the early pace setter, banking a 1:27.831s, a time close to the outright pace set by Lando Norris in opening practice.

A moment for Charles Leclerc through Becketts saw the Ferrari driver off the road and complaining of highspeed handling as he sat sixth in the opening minutes.

He was better off than team-mate Carlos Sainz, who was only ninth, eight-tenths away from Verstappen.

After 14 minutes, the Scuderia duo had both improved to sit second and fourth respectively.

However, those times came as Verstappen began a soft tyre run, quickly going fastest of anyone through the first split.

By the second split, he was four-tenths clear, pushing on to end the lap 0.851s clear of Leclerc in second – a six-tenths gain on his own medium tyre run.

A qualifying simulation from George Russell saw the Mercedes driver rise to second, though still the thick end of three-tenths down on Verstappen.

The weather forecast was making for an unusual session as teams prioritised different aspects of their programmes.

That saw some completing performance runs early on, with others looking a long-run pace.

Aston Martin completed its single lap runs with 25 minutes gone, Lance Stroll backing up his Free Practice 1 pace with the second fastest run.

His 1:27.249s proved just 0.041s slower than Verstappen’s best.

Conditions were conducive to fast laps as Nico Hulkenberg went quickest with a 1:26.990s, with Leclerc second ahead of Verstappen, Sainz, and then Stroll who’d been bumped down the order.

He fell further still as Piastri banked a 1:26.880s, McLaren having resolved a fuel cell issue that halted his opening practice hour.

Lewis Hamilton and Norris completed their qualifying simulations within seconds of each other with 30 minutes remaining, the former slotting in fourth, which became fifth as the McLaren driver went fastest.

The Brit mustered a 1:26.549s that left him 0.331s ahead of his team-mate.

Perez went third fastest, four-tenths off the pace, as the timesheets made complicated reading with suggestions some where not showing their hand as much as others.

Red Bull Racing appeared in the former camp, with McLaren in the latter, given the seven-tenth delta between Norris and Verstappen.

The final 25 minutes of the session was focused on race runs, the order remaining fundamentally unchanged.

Rain finally arrived with six minutes remaining, effectively ending the session with McLaren at the top of the timesheet – though some headed back out so they could complete a practice start after the chequered flag.

A final hour of practice remains on Saturday, beginning at 11:30 local time (20:30 AEST).