Sainz set the pace with a 1m28.942s effort in the first representative dry run of the weekend to sit well over a tenth ahead of Hamilton and Norris.
Meanwhile, defending champion Max Verstappen was fourth fastest to overtake Ferrari title rival Charles Leclerc.
After changeable conditions in the first practice session left just 10 drivers setting times, the circuit was a hive of early activity as soon as the hour-long FP2 got underway on Friday.
Sainz was the first driver to take to the track, the Ferrari shod in medium compound C2 Pirellis, and was soon followed by Sebastian Vettel and Norris on the harder C1 tyre.
With all 20 drivers venturing onto the track in the first 90s, the reference lap times kept coming as Sainz, then Valtteri Bottas and Yuki Tsunoda took turns to set the pace.
The downside of the gridlock, as Verstappen slowed from Stow to complete a systems check, was the battle for track position – George Russell was significantly delayed by Tsunoda through Lufield.
The Alpine and Williams duo came out straight away on the soft C3 tyres, allowing Esteban Ocon to temporarily take first place thanks to a lap of 1m33.081s after four minutes.
He was then overtaken by team-mate Fernando Alonso, the two-time champion, who was 0.015 seconds faster, while Vettel went on top by 1.6 seconds aboard the updated Aston Martin AMR22.
After five minutes, the usual suspects like Ferrari and Red Bull came to the fore.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Leclerc lowered the benchmark to 1m30.784s to edge Sainz by 0.014s and in turn found himself six tenths ahead of Verstappen.
Sainz pulled away for a cool lap and then pushed on again to set a new criterium on the medium tyres, his 1m29.962s moving him eight tenths clear of his Scuderia Leclerc team-mate.
Hamilton moved up to third at the same yellow-walled venue, despite continued complaints that the Mercedes W13 bounced too much at high speed.
Verstappen then did enough to split the Ferraris after 11 minutes before Leclerc improved once more to sit on top with a 1m29.639s ahead of Sainz, Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
Verstappen improved again to split the red cars, his 1m29.885s moving him three tenths clear of Leclerc.
In a frantic opening third of FP2, Leclerc then dropped times to 1m29.462s in the middle levels to end the yellow-walled run as a peyster with tenth in hand over Sainz.
A lull as all 20 cars pitted then gave way to the fastest soft tyre, with Norris soon climbing to the top of the standings when he appeared on the red tyre.
The McLaren driver’s 1m29.118s put him 0.3s ahead of Leclerc before Sainz made it two hits to set the best pace.
He buzzed over the line first in 1m29.014s to dethrone Norris, while his Ferrari F1-75 sported a brightly painted flo-vis rear wing – the Ferrari crew had shaved off the carbon fiber during the short break.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Sainz, like Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo, had to watch out for floor damage after going through the Copse exit curbs, but then improved once more to set the pace in the final.
Sainz remained king in FP2 after he shone on the timing line with a final 1m28.942s, while Hamilton moved up to second – 0.16s adrift – before losing part of his wing in the dying moments, which also hampered Copse’s curbs.
Norris didn’t get off without a hitch either. His McLaren was dropped from its rear jack in the pits and then in the confusion the left rear corner mechanic tried to fit a tire the wrong way.
Still, Norris was just 0.013s behind his compatriot, while Verstappen – whose drive was interrupted by a red-light caution and excessive cockpit noise as he suspected parts were rubbing – finished fourth.
Leclerc was 0.25s adrift of Verstappen, while Alonso took the revised Alpine machine to sixth ahead of Perez and Russell.
Ricciardo finished ninth, being the fastest runner on the hardest available C3 compound.
Lance Stroll made it to 10th, the Aston Martin driver causing a late red flag in a wet FP1 when he hit the gravel at Kops.
Bottas, who had set the pace in first practice with a 1m42.249s, qualified 11th ahead of Ocon and Alex Albon – the Thai, the only Williams driver to receive car upgrades for Silverstone and spent part of the session with his right sidepod , covered in pink flo-vis.
Zhou Guanyu was 14th ahead of Vettel, who will drive his Williams FW14B 08 chassis to the GP, and Tsunoda.
Kevin Magnussen got ahead of Pierre Gasly, who complained of a persistent lack of grip as Mick Schumacher and Nicolas Latifi ran the errand.
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