Massa makes the most of the softs
Felipe Massa was quickest in the second free practice session this afternoon at the Shanghai track. The Brazilians best lap was a 1.35.340, while in second was Kimi Raikkonen with a 1.35.492. In the other F138, Fernando Alonso was third in 1.35.755.The weather got warmer today thanks to some sunshine, reaching 22 degrees, with the track hitting 31, as Massa and Alonso began the session on the Medium compound, completing the task of evaluating new aero components, as well as the usual set-up work. As the track rubbered in and a clean line emerged, all the teams then tried the Soft compound, seen for the first time this season.The new tyres produced faster times over a single lap, by almost 2 seconds in fact and Massa produced a strong lap to post the fastest time of the day. The last 40 minutes of the session were given over to race simulation, acquiring important data in view of establishing a strategy for Sundays race.Alonso did his long run on the Soft tyre, while Massa did his using the Medium. The Spaniard did 30 laps, with the Brazilian doing two more.
FIA Practice 2 review
Massas time of 1:35.340, set around the hour mark was sufficient for him to finish FP2 the fastest man at the Shanghai International Circuit. Behind him a mixed order provided very little indication of form. The Lotus of Kimi Rikknen was second, a tenth down on the Brazilian but three tenths up on the other Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. Fourth was this mornings pace-setter Nico Rosberg for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bulls Mark Webber.
Jenson Button was sixth for McLaren, just in front of Lewis Hamilton in the second Mercedes. Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta were eighth and ninth respectively for Force India with World Champion Sebastian Vettel rounding out the top ten in the second Red Bull
The session had begun with every indication of Mercedes continuing their dominance from the mornings running. With most cars heading directly into runs when the track opened, Rosberg was leading at the 15 minute mark with 1:37.463, backed-up by team-mate Hamilton. The session was over before it begun, however, for Max Chilton whose Marussia stopped out on track, while others cars had a succession of slides and spins.
The order began to move around as runners switched to the soft compound unusually early, keen to gather data with a tyre not as yet used for racing this season. Toro Rossos Jean-Eric Vergne was the first to try the option but he was soon followed by Webber, who duly went sixth-tenths under Rosberg, the new benchmark being 1:36.092. It was as short-lived advantage as Rosberg switched to the soft tyre and hit back with 1:35.819. Meanwhile Williams finally got Valtteri Bottas running. The Finns car having had difficulty firing up.
With drivers preparing for long runs in the second half of the session, it was Rikknen and Massa who popped in the quickest times with the Brazilian going quickest of anyone on the day with 1:35.340 before heavy tyre wear took its toll, resulting in the leaders gradually losing pace across their as the session progressed. Several cited the wear as excessive, though Pirelli have since suggested they expect the track to evolve and the problems to lessen as the weekend progresses.
1. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m35.340s 322. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m35.492s + 0.152s 323. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m35.755s + 0.415s 304. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m35.819s + 0.479s 355. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m36.092s + 0.752s 316. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m36.432s + 1.092s 297. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m36.496s + 1.156s 398. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m36.514s + 1.174s 329. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m36.595s + 1.255s 3310 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m36.791s + 1.451s 2711 Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m36.940s + 1.600s 1612 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m36.963s + 1.623s 3113 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m37.103s + 1.763s 2214 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m37.206s + 1.866s 3915 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.127s + 2.787s 3416 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m38.185s + 2.845s 1817 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.211s + 2.871s 3218 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m38.276s + 2.936s 3419 Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m38.725s + 3.385s 2920 Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m39.271s + 3.931s 2121 Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m39.814s + 4.474s 2722 Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m43.227s + 7.887s 5
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