Alonso first and Massa third in Free Practice 2
The Ferrari of Fernando Alonso set the fastest time (1.16.265) of the second session of free practice for the German Grand Prix that has just finished at Hockenheim.
At the end of the 90-minute session the Spanish driver led the way, ahead of Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull (1.16.294) and his Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa (1.16.438). The session took place on a track with a dry line but that remained wet in some parts due to the morning’s rain at the German circuit.
On a first day of action that was complicated by the unstable weather conditions, the team managed to get through a good session, evaluating the performance of both tyre compounds. The Ferrari drivers carried out an important test on how the soft tyres behave with a high fuel load with an eye on the race before finishing on the harder set.
Tomorrow’s third and final session of free practice is scheduled for 11am in preparation for the decisive qualifying session.
Fernando Alonso, P1 - 1:29.684, 19th; P2 - 1:16.265, 1st“We have seen before on Fridays that we are very competitive and then on Saturday, the Red Bulls are clearly quicker, so we have to take this result with a pinch of salt: in order to be in front tomorrow, we will have to do something out of the ordinary. Today’s changeable weather made for a different day to usual, making it even harder to get a true picture of the hierarchy among the teams: you only had to use the softs five minutes later to gain half a second. We concentrated on our work and now we have to analyse the data to be as well prepared as possible for qualifying and the race. In terms of set-up we are on the right road, although we need to improve the balance of the car. With these track conditions, combined with quite low temperatures, it is important to be very careful with the tyres, so as not to ruin them immediately, especially the softs, so as to be able to evaluate their degradation for the race. From what we could see, there are no particular surprises in store.”
Felipe Massa, P1 - 1:26.850, 2nd; P2 - 1:16.438, 3rd“A good start to the weekend here in Hockenheim, but it is still much too soon to say where we are compared to our main opponents. The changing weather conditions will play an important role and we must be as well prepared as possible to tackle the various possible scenarios: for example if qualifying takes place in the wet and the race in the dry. It will be important to understand the behaviour of the tyres and from what we can gather in similar conditions, the softs are pretty good, while the hards are definitely too hard for this track. The latest updates introduced on the F10 also seem to be working well, confirming the progress made on the car. I would like to take this occasion to congratulate Sauber on its forty years in racing: I started my Formula 1 career with them and I really hope they stay in this sport for a long time.”
Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari team principal “It is always best to start a race weekend in this fashion, but we are perfectly aware that today’s results are even less meaningful than usual. Furthermore, at the last two races, we have seen our drivers in the top places on Friday afternoon and everyone knows how it ended up… But superstition apart, we wanted to get through our planned programme and we did so, despite the weather which was very changeable. Now we have to work towards qualifying, which I expect to be very closely contested and then the race. From what we have seen so far, the Red Bull is stll the quickest car, but we are competitive."
Chris Dyer, Ferrari chief engineer“It was quite a productive day. Despite the changing weather, which definitely didn’t help, we nevertheless managed to work through practically all the planned programme. We have a few new technical updates on the F10, which seem to have given us something extra in terms of car performance. We managed to evaluate both types of dry tyre and our drivers felt relatively comfortable with both the hard and the soft, and equally pleased with the car. On a track like this, the gaps are shortened, so we can expect a very close fight tomorrow in qualifying. Furthermore, today’s times have to be seen as less representative than usual given the rapid change in track conditions. Tomorrow’s forecast is for rain in the morning, while for qualifying, at least according to the latest bulletin from the middle of this afternoon, should take place in the dry, as should Sunday’s race.”
FP1 .....A rainy start
The first free practice session for the eleventh round of the Formula 1 World Championship, the German Grand Prix, has just ended under cloudy skies, having started in the rain, at the Hockenheim circuit. The rain eased off towards the second half and, come the end, Felipe Massa was second for Ferrari in 1.26.850, behind the Force India of Adrian Sutil (1.25.701) and ahead of Jenson Button in the McLaren (1.26.936.) Fernando Alonso set the nineteenth time, (1.29.684) having completed just fifteen laps in the other F10, opting to save his tyres for the afternoon, confident that the track conditions will be more settled. Both Ferrari men started on full wets, before switching to intermediates halfway through and then trying some practice starts at the end.
Heikki Kovalainen and Karun Chandhok did not take part, with Lotus’s Finn replaced by Malaysian test driver Fairuz Fauzy, while the Indian Force India driver was substituted by Japan’s Sakon Yamamoto.
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