GP Great Britain – Free Practice 2: Massa slips through the raindrops

After a first part of the session neutralized by rain, the end of the session became lively with all the drivers on the track, Felipe Massa setting, in the last seconds, a best time from which it is, however, impossible to draw any conclusions.

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Rédigé par Par

Under heavy rain and on a soaked track, it takes several minutes before the first single-seater shows its nose. Timo Glock is the first driver to set off, on intermediate tires, before returning without triggering the stopwatch.

A few minutes later, Jaime Alguersuari is the first driver to launch an attack on the clock, but despite the rain tires, the Spaniard complains of aquaplaning and returns to the pits without crossing the timing line.

Kamui Kobayashi’s violent off-track excursion during Free Practice 1 seems to have deterred the last of the daredevils. Yet the Japanese driver ventures onto the track before reconsidering, as the sun makes a timid appearance through the clouds above the Silverstone circuit.

With the implementation of the new technical regulations on diffuser blowing, the teams couldn’t have hoped for a worse start to the weekend, as the conditions didn’t allow for any evaluation of the aerodynamic developments introduced and the real impact of the new regulations.

After a brief lull, the rain intensifies again, and understandably, there are no actions to report on the track. In the garages, Alguersuari falls asleep in his cockpit.

At mid-session, as conditions seem to have significantly improved over the circuit, the drivers return to the track, led by Jaime Alguersuari. This time, the Spaniard completes his lap and sets an initial time of 2:04.096, which he lowers on the next lap to 2:01.984.

Sebastian Buemi is the first driver to go under two minutes with a time of 1:58.323, while the Mercedes drivers are the first among the top teams to venture onto the track. As soon as he completes his timed lap, Nico Rosberg has a big scare approaching the first corner when his W02 goes into aquaplaning: a skid beautifully controlled by the German driver.

Quite logically, the drivers are improving lap after lap the best time, but as the last half-hour of testing approaches, only eight drivers have a timed lap. During his installation lap, Rubens Barrichello complains over the radio about the amount of water on the track; moreover, the Brazilian treads carefully on his first flying lap.

As Adrian Sutil climbs to the top of the timesheet, showcasing his skills on a dry track with a time of 1:53.676, the leading drivers start taking to the track on intermediate tires, such as Fernando Alonso or Mark Webber. In his first timed lap, the Australian clocks the 4th fastest time, while Alonso doesn’t push further and returns to the pits to make some adjustments.

Mark Webber, however, quickly rises to the top of the timesheet with a 1:53.537 as his teammate takes to the track, also on intermediate tires, just like Jenson Button.

With only 15 minutes left before the checkered flag, Michael Schumacher holds the best time at 1:53.024 ahead of Webber, Buemi, Sutil, Alguersuari, Barrichello, Maldonado, Perez, Kobayashi, Petrov, Rosberg, Heidfeld, Di Resta, Kovalainen, Trulli, and D’Ambrosio.

The Sauber drivers seem to be struggling the most in these conditions, with Perez and Kobayashi making multiple off-track excursions.

If Webber once again takes the fastest time, at 1:52.587, Vettel is a quiet 15th while Jenson Button laps very slowly. Alonso takes 2nd place, just behind the Australian Red Bull driver as the rain reappears on the track, the blue sky giving way to a grayish cloud cover.

While Button returns to the pits without setting any time, his teammate bursts onto the track on intermediate tires like most of his colleagues. The Brit makes a slight mistake at the entrance of Maggots but doesn’t push it and goes straight into the paved section, as Sebastian Vettel returns to the pits with the 8th fastest time and ends his session.

In his first ‘clean’ lap, Hamilton, who had delivered a masterclass in such conditions in 2008, had to settle for the 11th fastest time, while his teammate, on a fast lap, significantly improved the first two sectors but chose to return to the pits without setting a single time in the session.

Michael Schumacher, Adrian Sutil, and Nico Rosberg successively slip into first place, while Lewis Hamilton, caught in traffic, settles for the second-fastest time, quickly surpassed by Kamui Kobayashi and especially by Felipe Massa, who takes the best time at 1:49.967, ahead of Nico Rosberg.

Twelfth and more than two seconds behind the Ferrari driver, Michael Schumacher was nevertheless the first driver in the standings on wet tires.

Results of Free Practice 2 of the British Grand Prix

Driver Team Times Gap Laps
1
Massa Ferrari 1:49.967
9
2
Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:50.744 +0.777
16
3
Kobayashi BMW-Sauber 1:51.395 +1.428
16
4
Hamilton McLaren 1:51.438 +1.471
6
5
Button McLaren 1:51.518 +1.551
6
6
Sutil Force India 1:51.738 +1.771
18
7
di Resta Force India 1:51.781 +1.814
7
8
Barrichello Williams 1:51.992 +2.025
13
9
Perez BMW-Sauber 1:52.169 +2.202
12
10
Buemi Toro Rosso 1:52.189 +2.222
21
11
Petrov Lotus Renault GP 1:52.198 +2.231
9
12
Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:52.325 +2.358
12
13
Kovalainen Lotus 1:52.578 +2.611
16
14
Webber Red Bull 1:52.587 +2.620
6
15
Alonso Ferrari 1:52.869 +2.902
8
16
Heidfeld Lotus Renault GP 1:54.023 +4.056
8
17
Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1:54.274 +4.307
16
18
Vettel Red Bull 1:54.545 +4.578
4
19
D’Ambrosio Virgin 1:54.714 +4.747
13
20
Maldonado Williams 1:55.155 +5.188
8
21
Trulli Lotus 1:55.155 +5.188
12
22
Glock Virgin 1:55.549 +5.582
10
23
Ricciardo HRT 1:55.828 +5.861
10
24
Liuzzi HRT 1:56.037 +6.070
6
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