Brazil – Free Practice 2: Hamilton confirms his form but Rosberg is just a breath away
Mercedes asserted its dominance on the Brazilian track after Williams stormed to the top of the timesheet. Red Bull is further back but still ahead of Ferrari, the two teams being very close. After a problem with his ERS system, Alonso spent the second half of the session on the trackside in Senna's esses, entertaining the crowd.
At the start of the second session, Kévin Magnussen was the first to leave the pit lane, followed by the two Haas, the two McLaren, and Esteban Ocon. Kimi Räikkönen and Sebastian Vettel also quickly exited their garage, while the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers did not rush.
In pursuit of the clock, Vettel placed himself at the top of the timing sheets with a 1″13″915, Räikkönen 2nd on hard tires with a 1″14″369. But Ricciardo quickly reclaimed the fastest lap with a 1″13″748. The yellow flag was deployed in sector 2 as Marcus Ericsson spun out at the exit of turn 7. The Swede could already return his tires to Pirelli after this major lock-up.
“I might have flat-spotted my tyres…” – @Ericsson_Marcus 📻 #BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1 #FP2 pic.twitter.com/mBnfvXjOzo
— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 novembre 2016
On medium tires, Verstappen took the 2nd fastest time, 0.104 seconds behind Ricciardo with a lap of 1:13.852 during his second attempt after aborting the first due to a mistake while braking at the entrance to Senna’s Esses. Nico Rosberg moved up to 4th place after his attempt, and his second attempt saw him reclaim the fastest time from Ricciardo, but immediately after, Lewis Hamilton stole the spotlight with a lap of 1:13.157, two-tenths ahead of his teammate.
Confirming his good form at the start of the weekend, Valtteri Bottas recorded the 3rd fastest time, placing himself between the Mercedes and the Red Bulls after 20 minutes of the session. Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo exited the pits and was the first to switch to soft tires at the start of the session. Unsurprisingly, the Australian secured the best time with 1″12″828.
RIC ready to spoil the Mercedes party?
He goes fastest on the softs 💪 #BrazilGP #F1 #FP2 pic.twitter.com/cJu7EsKIdz
— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 novembre 2016
An investigation was launched for an altercation between Carlos Sainz and Kimi Räikkönen, the two drivers did not let go in sectors 2 and 3, and Räikkönen was forced to cross the trajectory from the outside to enter the pits.
With the first third of the session erased, it was time for a first assessment despite the beginning of the use of soft tires for many drivers. The Williams drivers were at the top of the standings, with Valtteri Bottas ahead of Felipe Massa by 28 thousandths, Ricciardo in 3rd was within the same tenth. In 4th place, Räikkönen positioned himself ahead of Hamilton and Rosberg, with Verstappen remaining on the lookout. Button and Alonso were placed 8th and 9th, Daniil Kvyat completed the top 10. Beyond the top 10 were Sainz, Vettel, Nasr, Ocon, Gutierrez, Ericsson, Palmer, Magnussen, Pérez, Hülkenberg, Grosjean, Wehrlein.
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (1 HOUR TO GO): @WilliamsRacing = 🔥🔥🔥 #BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/fudh6KXjzO
— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 novembre 2016
While Hamilton and Rosberg once again claimed the two fastest times, Romain Grosjean announced over the radio to his team a lack of power, before reporting to his team an issue with the settings in turn 1 after a slight rear-end loss entering the esses. At Force India, they fitted the soft tires to climb out of the bottom of the standings, with Hülkenberg achieving the 9th fastest time while Pérez remained far back in 14th place behind the McLarens and Toro Rossos.
GRO: “Something is wrong, very strange, at Turn 1!” 📻
He slides his way through the Senna S…#BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/GSgKwtPiZv
— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 novembre 2016
On the occasion of a flying lap by Valtteri Bottas, the broadcast placed us in his seat, giving us the chance to discover or rediscover the Interlagos track. It was now time for long stint work for the entire field. A problem occurred with Fernando Alonso’s McLaren, the car from Woking came to a halt at the exit of turn 3. Would the Spaniard offer us another sunbathing scene like the previous year? On the radio, it was reported that there was an issue with the ERS (energy recovery system).
The obvious question with Alonso stopping at Interlagos: how far away is the nearest deckchair? #F1
— Autosport Live (@autosportlive) 11 novembre 2016
The Free Practice 2 continued, Verstappen offered us some controlled slides, Räikkönen was called in by Ferrari to return to the pits due to an issue with his left rear brake, which seemed to signal the end of his day on the track. Trackside, Alonso continued to be a mere spectator behind the tire wall in the Senna esses. Pascal Wehrlein was the only one to improve his time, but remained stuck in last place.
In the absence of on-track action during this second half of the session reserved for long race stints, Fernando Alonso was putting on a show trackside. Initially observing in the esses, he improvised as a footballer by juggling stones before, if you don’t mind, taking a FOM cameraman’s place to film the end of the session. However, the attempt was not very conclusive.
#F1 driver. Camera operator
Is there anything @alo_oficial can’t do? 😂#BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/rpzIfjHi7q
— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 novembre 2016
At the end of the hour and a half session, the standings remained unchanged during the last hour. We are still waiting for the race direction’s decision regarding the altercation between Carlos Sainz and Kimi Räikkönen. The stewards want to meet with the drivers before making any decision.
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF #FP2): @LewisHamilton edges @nico_rosberg to end Friday fastest in Brazil #BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/1LKloPTsja
— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 novembre 2016
