FP2: Hamilton concludes Friday with fastest time

In contrast to the first session, Lewis Hamilton managed to pip his teammate Nico Rosberg for the fastest time of FP2 after setting a time of 1:22.801 on the supersoft compound.

Almost immediately after setting the fastest time, the Brit tried to remain on the same tyre set and post another quick time. However, he soon told his team garage on the radio “I don’t think these tyres are going to do another lap” and came back into the pits.

Rosberg, who set the fastest time during the morning run, took a backseat to his teammate during the second session in terms of speed but was still only 0.193s behind Hamilton

The Silver Arrows’ closest challenger during FP2 was none other than Sebastian Vettel, who was only just under half a second slower than the duo, while Kimi Raikkonen set a time of 1:23.427 to give rivals something to think about ahead of Saturday’s qualifiers.

Improving from the FP1, Red Bull drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were more encouraging during the afternoon session as they both impressed on the supersoft compound late into the session.

With 30 minutes left, Fernando Alonso impressed onlookers when he set a time of 1:24.259 as he split the two RB12’s for a moment, he was however undone by Verstappen’s 1:23.732 shortly after.

Continuing his impressive display, Haas’ Romain Grosjean finished in the top ten yet again with a time of 1:24.516, he did however complain about a problem with his rear tyres.

Toro Rosso suffered a rather underwhelming session as they finished in unfamiliar territory at the back of the grid with Carlos Sainz finishing P17 and Daniil Kvyat P20.

Interestingly, nine out of the 22 drivers on the grid decided to test out the medium compound, with most favouring either the soft or supersoft tyres.

Times:

1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 40 laps 1’22.801
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 42 laps 1’22.994 0.193
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 33  laps 1’23.254 0.453
4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 28 laps 1’23.427 0.626
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull 25 laps 1’23.732 0.931
6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 33 laps 1’24.003 1.202
7 Fernando Alonso McLaren 24 laps 1’24.259 1.458
8 Valtteri Bottas Williams 41 laps 1’24.299 1.498
9 Romain Grosjean Haas 35 laps 1’24.516     1.715
10 Jenson Button McLaren 28 laps 1’24.549 1.748
11 Felipe Massa Williams 20 laps 1’24.556 1.755
12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 40 laps 1’24.587 1.786
13 Sergio Perez Force India 42 laps 1’24.653 1.852
14 Esteban Gutierrez Haas 33 laps 1’24.674 1.873
15 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 25 laps 1’24.981 2.180
16 Pascal Wehrlein Manor 38 laps 1’25.083 2.282
17 Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso 31 laps 1’25.240 2.439
18 Esteban Ocon Manor 13 laps 1’25.275 2.474
19 Kevin Magnussen Renault 39 laps 1’25.555 2.754
20 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 33 laps 1’25.614 2.813
21 Felipe Nasr Sauber 31 laps 1’25.643 2.842
22 Jolyon Palmer Renault 45 laps 1’25.833 3.032