Chinese GP: Free Practice 2 – Vettel Confirms, McLaren Closes In

Sebastian Vettel was once again the fastest during the second free practice session of the Chinese Grand Prix, increasingly establishing himself as the favorite to claim a third consecutive victory in three years. Already the fastest this morning, the German driver improved his time by nearly a second with a lap of 1:37.688. But where the McLarens were more than two seconds behind this morning, they are now less than three-tenths behind the Red Bull driver, strutting their stuff from the start of the session by beating their respective best morning times, with Button setting the fastest time at 1:39.431.

After 20 minutes of the session, it’s Nico Rosberg’s turn to put the nose of his Mercedes at the top of the timesheet, becoming the second man to break the 1:38 barrier today. Pastor Maldonado then propelled himself among the best with the help of the soft tires, which he was the first to use. Felipe Massa, imitating his South American compatriot, momentarily placed the 150° Italia at the top with a time of 1:38.570, before Nico Rosberg improved the time again with soft tires, breaking the 1:37 barrier for the first time this weekend.

After an hour of testing, the young German driver was two-tenths ahead of his senior at Mercedes until the McLaren drivers took the lead to seize the top two provisional places before Button declared on his radio that his tires were ruined. But the times set by the McLaren drivers did not withstand the assault of Sebastian Vettel, who posted what would remain the benchmark time for this second free practice session at 1:37.688.

Behind, Nick Heidfeld and Timo Glock had another difficult session. Out on track during the first practice sessions, the Lotus Grand Prix driver once again made a mistake in turn 12. While he was able to return to the pits, albeit without the front wing, the German lost valuable time spent in the garage. The Virgin driver, on the other hand, spent more time in his garage than on the track.

The Marussia Virgin cars, incidentally, occupy the last two positions on the timesheet, at a good distance from the HRT drivers, including Vitantonio Liuzzi, who could only complete three laps at the end of the session.

Finally, Paul di Resta also experienced a difficult Friday afternoon: victim of a fuel pressure problem, the Scot could not complete a single lap.

The Red Bulls and McLarens thus confirm the performances glimpsed at Sepang, just like Ferrari, which will still have to tighten the screws this weekend, with Felipe Massa achieving the 6th fastest time, more than 8 tenths behind the Red Bull driver. The Mercedes drivers, on the other hand, appear quite favorable, occupying the 4th and 5th places, less than 5 tenths behind Vettel, likely benefiting from the qualities of their engine as well as Adrian Sutil, who secured a promising 7th place.

Free Practice 2 Results: 2011 Chinese Grand Prix