Australian GP: Free Practice 2 – McLaren Reassures Itself
In cool weather marked by some rainy episodes, the McLaren drivers answered the call by achieving a double finish, at the end of a session where the Red Bull team focused on their race pace.

The stopwatch barely started when the first drivers enter the track. Sergio Perez is the first to set a timed lap of 1:37.308 but he slightly went off track. Fast, Di Resta is, however, hindered by Michael Schumacher in an out-lap from the pits, and the Scot does not improve on Perez’s time.
Sebastian Vettel seems to be set for a long stint on hard tires, with his engineer asking him to use his rear wing under race conditions: only on the straight.
Alonso takes the best time with 1:28.393, but Schumacher snatches it with 1:27.979. A few minutes later, it’s Massa’s turn to set the best time before yielding it to Lewis Hamilton, who clocks 1:27.056 despite a very stiff car on the circuit’s bumps. Jenson Button, for his part, takes advantage of every straight to activate his rear wing.
Nico Rosberg seemed on a good lap but, hindered, he has to settle for 2nd fastest behind Hamilton while Massa goes wide. The Brit improves his own best time by setting a lap of Albert Park in 1:26.961.
Trulli, on his first flying lap, visits the gravel trap but unlike Karun Chandhok in the first practice session, the Italian emerges without apparent damage. In the garages, HRT is still working on their car but the weekend is off to a bad start.
After 20 minutes of testing, Hamilton is still in the lead, 1:26.961 ahead of Rosberg, Button, Massa, Schumacher, Petrov, Alonso, Heidfeld, Barrichello, and Perez. Far behind, the Red Bull drivers are on long runs: most of the drivers are on hard tires.
A few drops appear on the camera lenses but without hindering the smooth running of the session. On hard tires, Vettel is 5 seconds slower than Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren, while his teammate, Mark Webber, is even slower, likely due to a higher fuel load.
Jenson Button then takes the best time with 1:26.706 while Rubens Barrichello climbs to 3rd position. But Michael Schumacher, on soft tires, settles the matter with 1:26.590.
Felipe Massa attacks and fights with his car but has to settle for the 7th fastest time, behind Fernando Alonso. On his side, Sebastian Vettel completes a 22-lap stint with the hardest tires in rather cool temperatures.
At mid-session, Hamilton improves the first two sectors but fails to convert it into a good time, hindered by Pastor Maldonado in the final sector. Michael Schumacher stays ahead of Button, Hamilton, Alonso, Barrichello, Rosberg, Alguersuari, Massa, Petrov, Heidfeld. Perez, in 11th, is ahead of Buemi, Kobayashi, Maldonado, Sutil, Di Resta, Vettel, Webber, Glock, and D’Ambrosio. Trulli and Kovalainen bring up the rear of the drivers on track but are the least diligent alongside Nico Rosberg.
Webber significantly improves his time, on soft tires, with a 1.29.960 while Jenson Button regains the advantage over Schumacher with a 1.26.156. Felipe Massa, very aggressive, has to settle for the 5th fastest time!
Lewis Hamilton takes over from Button at the top of the timesheets with a 1.25.986, but his teammate immediately reclaims the lead with a 1.25.854 after complaining about understeer.
Thirty minutes before the checkered flag, only a few drivers are still on the track, among them the two Mercedes drivers. In the last 20 minutes, the session livens up. Button is still ahead of his teammate, Alonso is 3rd ahead of Vettel, Webber, Schumacher, Massa, Perez, Barrichello, and Rosberg. The Lotus Grand Prix drivers, on the other hand, are rather discreet in this session.
However, no one really improves on the track, and the Virgins find themselves more than 7 seconds off the best time, and 2 seconds behind the slowest of the Lotus cars, thus beyond the fateful 107% threshold in qualifying.
The rain makes its appearance again as Fernando Alonso tests his adjustable rear wing to overtake the driver ahead of him but without success. However, once the track is declared wet, the drivers are no longer allowed to use the rear wing.
But suddenly, an engine roars in the garages, and a single-seater enters the pit lane! It will only make one lap without crossing the timing line: was it a mirage? No, it was an HRT, Liuzzi’s!
At the checkered flag, no driver improved. Jenson Button thus sets the best time at 1:25.854, ahead of Hamilton, Alonso, and the two Red Bull drivers. Sebastian Vettel was the most diligent driver on the track.
Here is the ranking of this second free practice session of the Australian Grand Prix:
N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1
|
Button | McLaren | 1:25.854 |
32
|
|
2
|
Hamilton | McLaren | 1:25.986 | +0.132 |
31
|
3
|
Alonso | Ferrari | 1:26.001 | +0.147 |
28
|
4
|
Vettel | Red Bull | 1:26.014 | +0.160 |
35
|
5
|
Webber | Red Bull | 1:26.283 | +0.429 |
33
|
6
|
Schumacher | Mercedes GP | 1:26.590 | +0.736 |
31
|
7
|
Massa | Ferrari | 1:26.789 | +0.935 |
34
|
8
|
Perez | BMW-Sauber | 1:27.101 | +1.247 |
39
|
9
|
Barrichello | Williams | 1:27.280 | +1.426 |
34
|
10
|
Rosberg | Mercedes GP | 1:27.448 | +1.594 |
23
|
11
|
Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | 1:27.525 | +1.671 |
31
|
12
|
Petrov | Lotus Renault GP | 1:27.528 | +1.674 |
29
|
13
|
Heidfeld | Lotus Renault GP | 1:27.536 | +1.682 |
22
|
14
|
Buemi | Toro Rosso | 1:27.697 | +1.843 |
30
|
15
|
Kobayashi | BMW-Sauber | 1:28.095 | +2.241 |
35
|
16
|
di Resta | Force India | 1:28.376 | +2.522 |
33
|
17
|
Sutil | Force India | 1:28.583 | +2.729 |
31
|
18
|
Maldonado | Williams | 1:29.386 | +3.532 |
29
|
19
|
Kovalainen | Lotus | 1:30.829 | +4.975 |
22
|
20
|
Trulli | Lotus | 1:30.912 | +5.058 |
23
|
21
|
D’Ambrosio | Virgin | 1:32.106 | +6.252 |
36
|
22
|
Glock | Virgin | 1:32.135 | +6.281 |
30
|
23
|
Liuzzi | Hispania Racing Team | — |
1
|
|
24
|
Karthikeyan | Hispania Racing Team | — |
0
|