Max Verstappen upset the pecking order by putting Red Bull ahead of both Mercedes and Ferrari in Friday practice ahead of this weekend's German Grand Prix.On a hot, sunny day at Hockenheim, the Dutchman emerged in front during the afternoon session, posting a 1m13.085s on the Ultrasoft tyre finishing just 0.026s faster than Lewis Hamilton in second.The Milton Keynes outfit, who were a distant third at Silverstone, would claim the honours in both practices as Daniel Ricciardo also topped the times in the morning, beating the world champion again by just 0.004s.The Australian's focus is very different for the rest of the weekend, however, as he will start from the back of the grid on Sunday after taking on three new engine elements which exceed their permitted allowance for the season.A brief engine problem in second practice also threatened Verstappen but Red Bull managed to fix the issue quite quickly allowing him back out on the circuit.For Mercedes and Ferrari, it was very much business as usual, with the German manufacturer appearing to have the slight edge over their Italian rivals on home turf.Fresh from announcing a new contract for 2019 with the option of 2020, Valtteri Bottas was within a tenth of Hamilton in third.The Scuderia are well known to make big gains on Saturdays though, and local favourite Sebastian Vettel looked quick and at ease for a guy who was only fourth fastest.Kimi Raikkonen was fifth with Ricciardo's focus on long-run pace in Practice 2 leaving him down the order in 13th.

Ferrari power again dominating the midfield

As was the case in Britain, it pays to have a Ferrari engine in the back if you are battling in the midfield.

Haas once again sat as the fourth best team with Romain Grosjean ahead of teammate Kevin Magnussen in both sessions, but the question, as always, is whether the Frenchman can sustain it?

Charles Leclerc put Sauber again into the top 10 in eighth place as Nico Hulkenberg, who emerged unscathed from a high-speed off into the gravel in the morning, and Esteban Ocon completed the would be Q3 positions in qualifying.

The performance from the Frenchman was particularly of note as he only completed one session after Force India reserve Nicholas Latifi was given a run out in the morning.

Margins again were minimal with Ocon's teammate Sergio Perez and Hulkenberg's Renault partner Carlos Sainz all within the same tenth in 11th and 12th.

Sainz also more noteworthy after missing much of the morning to a water leak in his car.

Two iconic teams still finding their feet

A small gap - and Ricciardo - stood between them and another group of cars headed by the second Sauber of Marcus Ericsson in 14th.

The Swede would lead both Toro Rosso drivers, Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley, and Fernando Alonso as McLaren endured a difficult day at the office.

Their focus was on testing parts for future circuits in the morning, which explained their poor pace but to be 17th and last with Stoffel Vandoorne, who also lost of lot of running in the morning, highlights the plight the British team is in.

Williams spent their day also focusing on upgrades, aimed at curing their ongoing flaws, and some progress does appear to be being made with Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin still the slowest team, but only four-tenths off the back of the midfield pack.

Full results from Practice 2 can be seen below:

What's boosting Red Bull?

Back at the front, while seeing Verstappen and Red Bull on top is pretty surprising, two things are likely helping their competitiveness.

The first is their ability in the final Stadium section as they easily hold the advantage through the series of slow and medium-speed corners, the second is tyres as the abrasive surface allied to hot temperatures is making degradation a problem.

So much so, that the Ultrasoft tyre was having to be treated so gently before drivers pushed on flying laps and in the race simulation, Mercedes were struggling to make the compound last 20 laps.

A one-stop using the Soft and Medium appears a likely option, particularly if forecast rain tomorrow allows for free tyre choice at the start of what is expected to be a dry race.

But it is in these tight situations that Red Bull usually thrive as was shown in China and Austria, therefore, Verstappen is a very big threat to Hamilton and Vettel for the victory on Sunday and that is not a bad thing at all!