FP2: Rosberg sets practice pace

Nico Rosberg managed back-to-back P1s at Silverstone on Friday as he was again quickest in FP2, a session that was red flagged twice.

On a hot afternoon, Lewis Hamilton and Rosberg seized control of the timesheets at the start of FP2 as all the drivers put in laps on the hard Pirelli tyres. Hamilton led the way with a 1:34.877 while Rosberg was 0.352s down as the drivers struggled to match their morning pace.

The running was briefly red flagged when, 17 minutes into the 90-minute session, Romain Grosjean beached his Lotus in the gravel on the outside of Luffield. "Something went wrong at the rear," was Grosjean's cry before he added "completely inconsistent, completely inconsistent."

Six minutes later the action was again underway only for Fernando Alonso to land up in the same gravel trap. The McLaren driver, though, was able to keep some speed and find more solid ground which helped him work his way out.

Just before the halfway point of the session, Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel were the first of the front runners to swap to the medium Pirelli rubber.

Rosberg went quickest with a 1:34.155 while Vettel slotted into second place. As for Hamilton, the reigning World Champion was able to find the pace in the first two sectors and finished up P3.

That became P4 as Kimi Raikkonen, the last of the front runners to swap to the medium tyres, jumped up to second place, 0.347s down – and he did so on his second flying lap.

Swapping to longer runs for the final 30 minutes, Rosberg held onto the P1 ahead of Raikkonen while Vettel was third. Hamilton retained fourth ahead of Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo.

Rosberg also had the edge over his team-mate in the long runs with the German in the 38s while Hamilton was in the 39s. The Brit reported: "I can't get any faster than I am now."

The session was again red flagged with 15 minutes to go as Roberto Merhi was stuck at Luffield, half on the gravel, half on the track. However, as soon as the flag was thrown, the Manor driver was able to get his car going and returned to the pits with the rest of the field.

As soon as everyone was back in, the session was green-lighted and the drivers were allowed back on track for the final 13 minutes where long runs were again on order.

Times
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:34.155 34 laps
2 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:34.502 0.347 29 laps
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:34.522 0.367 27 laps
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:34.621 0.466 23 laps
5 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1:35.009 0.854 25 laps
6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:35.153 0.998 22 laps
7 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1:35.300 1.145 36 laps
8 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:35.387 1.232 34 laps
9 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:35.866 1.711 37 laps
10 Felipe Massa Williams 1:36.147 1.992 33 laps
11 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:36.164 2.009 32 laps
12 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:36.183 2.028 33 laps
13 Sergio Perez Force India 1:36.351 2.196 29 laps
14 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:36.728 2.573 21 laps
15 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:36.731 2.576 19 laps
16 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:36.822 2.667 23 laps
17 Jenson Button McLaren 1:37.196 3.041 16 laps
18 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:37.327 3.172 37 laps
19 Will Stevens Manor 1:38.279 4.124 21 laps
20 Roberto Merhi Manor 1:39.878 5.723 21 laps