Italy – Free Practice 2: Sebastian Vettel Far Ahead

Returns of Adrian Sutil, Giedo van der Garde, and Jules Bianchi to their respective seats after having left them during FP1.

The track is open! At precisely 2 PM, the race cars rush into the pit lane to gain maximum insights from this second free practice session, which takes place under a bright sun and 29°C. Max Chilton is the first to venture out. During the first round, it’s Kimi Räikkönen who takes the lead with a time of 1:25.725 while Jean-Eric Vergne makes a harmless off-track excursion at the end of the pit straight.

After ten minutes of the session, the two Lotus cars occupy the top two spots as Romain Grosjean has set a time of 1:26.090. For the moment, only Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, and Lewis Hamilton have not yet set a time in this session. Shortly after, Sebastian Vettel elevates his Red Bull to the top of the timing sheets with a time of 1:25.616 on hard tires, while Lewis Hamilton, the leader of the morning session, completes a lap at a very reduced pace, in 1:29.663, putting him in the last position. All the drivers then pass through their pits.

After twenty minutes, the two Red Bulls are leading as Mark Webber clocked in at 1:25.253 against his teammate’s 1:25.038. They are ahead of Fernando Alonso and the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. An interesting novelty is provided during this session: a thermal camera on the cars of Paul di Resta and Pastor Maldonado. They allow viewers to see the changes in tire temperature on straights and in turns. Very impressive and educational for the spectators.

After forty-five minutes, the drivers have only improved their times slightly. At the front, the two Red Bulls are still leading, with Sebastian Vettel managing to break the 1:25 barrier (1:24.453). Kimi Räikkönen has moved up to third place (1:25.116), with exactly the same time as his teammate Romain Grosjean! As for Lewis Hamilton, he complains of too much oversteer, and Charles Pic is caught off guard by his car’s balance and a loss of grip in the middle of the corner.

After an hour, the drivers begin their race simulations, loaded with fuel. The goal is not to set fast lap times but to gather valuable information for Sunday’s race. Thus, Ferrari brings Fernando Alonso back to the pits to create some space between him and the two Caterhams in front of him.

It is interesting to note that the cars with the highest top speeds are equipped with Ferrari engines, while the four best times are achieved by cars with a Renault engine.

In the last half hour, drivers are asked to pay close attention to their rear tires during their simulations to preserve them for as long as possible. All the drivers are then on the track to string together laps, but the times are no longer improving. Sebastian Vettel is still nearly half a second ahead of everyone.

Felipe Massa is forced to return to the pits due to a gearbox problem. We will see if he will be compelled to change it, which would have significant consequences for his position on the starting grid Sunday afternoon. The Ferrari driver steps out ten minutes before the rest of the drivers while Fernando Alonso has a major off-track excursion in the second Lesmo corner. His trip through the gravel has no further consequences, and he manages to get back on the track without any issues.

No one improves further, and Sebastian Vettel ends up leading this second session. He practices his pit entry braking on his in-lap. He is ahead of Mark Webber, Kimi Räikkönen, Romain Grosjean, Fernando Alonso, and the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Note that it is Max Chilton who is the best of the Caterham and Marussia drivers.

Free Practice 2 Standings of the 2013 Italian Grand Prix: