FP2: Rosberg quickest, problems for Hamilton
Nico Rosberg put Mercedes up into P1 in Friday night’s second practice for the Singapore GP as he edged Kimi Raikkonen while a hydraulic issue cost Lewis Hamilton track time.
Friday night’s second practice may have only started at 9:30pm local but conditions were still hot and humid for the 22 drivers taking part.
Hamilton set the early pace on the supersoft tyres, the Mercedes driver’s 1:45.275 putting him 0.345s up on Daniel Ricciardo.
FP1 pace-setter Max Verstappen was third while Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel lined up P9 and 10 respectively as they ran the soft tyres.
Swapping to the ultrasoft Pirellis, Vettel went quickest but lost that position to Kimi Raikkonen, who in turn was dropped by Rosberg. The German clocked a 1:44.152 to finish 0.275s up on the Finn.
However, it wasn’t a trouble-free session for Rosberg as late on he warned of a brake problem, saying it appeared “terminal.”
Verstappen was third quickest, a further 0.105s down, while Ricciardo, who had a lucky escape when a spin almost ended nose first in the barrier, was fourth ahead of Vettel.
Nico Hulkenberg was sixth for Force India as he showed great one-lap pace but suffered a serious drop-off when he switched to race set-up.
Hamilton, who had a “small hydraulic issue” that limited his running to just 10 laps, was seventh fastest.
The World Champion had to back off on his first ultrasoft lap as he locked up into Turn 1 and went over the run-off. His second was a 1:45.2, which put him 1.123s down on his team-mate’s best.
Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, who stopped out on track after the chequered flag, and Daniil Kvyat completed the top ten.
Alonso and Esteban Ocon added their names to the growing list of drivers that whacked the wall but without any serious consequences. The same cannot be said of Romain Grosjean.
He spun into the wall at the final corner and lost most of the rear wing of his Haas. “There’s something not going right on the car,” Grosjean said, adding “The rear wing is gone, but even before that [things weren’t right].”
Times
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1’44.152 34 laps
2 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1’44.427 +0.275 34 laps
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1’44.532 +0.380 29 laps
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1’44.557 +0.405 26 laps
5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1’45.161 +1.009 33 laps
6 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1’45.182 +1.030 35 laps
7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1’45.275 +1.123 10 laps
8 Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso 1’45.507 +1.355 33 laps
9 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1’45.779 +1.627 30 laps
10 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1’46.029 +1.877 35 laps
11 Sergio Perez Force India 1’46.063 +1.911 26 laps
12 Jenson Button McLaren 1’46.574 +2.422 30 laps
13 Esteban Gutierrez Haas 1’46.727 +2.575 36 laps
14 Felipe Massa Williams 1’46.856 +2.704 30 laps
15 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1’46.960 +2.808 30 laps
16 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1’47.161 +3.009 30 laps
17 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1’47.166 +3.014 34 laps
18 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1’47.531 +3.379 29 laps
19 Romain Grosjean Haas 1’48.391 +4.239 12 laps
20 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1’48.487 +4.335 32 laps
21 Pascal Wehrlein Manor 1’48.505 +4.353 33 laps
22 Esteban Ocon Manor 1’48.823 +4.671 29 laps