Singapore – Free Practice 2: Vettel Wins Everyone Over

This time, night has truly fallen on the Marina Bay circuit for the second free practice session of the day. It is 9:30 PM in Singapore. The spotlights are on as they will be during the race on Sunday.

One of the objectives of this session for the drivers will be to set up the car with the super-soft tires, which is the softest compound brought by Pirelli this weekend. This morning, they only ran on mediums.

The track conditions are essentially the same as in free practice 1, with 29°C in the air and 30°C on the track. The humidity is particularly dense at 72%, as is often the case in Singapore, due to its proximity to the sea.

As soon as the light turns green, the session kicks off with a bang as Adrian Sutil breaks the tranquility of the Singaporean night. He starts the proceedings with 1’51″501. Maldonado performs off-track maneuvers with his Williams, quickly followed by Jean-Eric Vergne. The first thunderbolt comes with Sebastian Vettel clocking in at 1’46″853! He’s already faster than Hamilton this morning. Romain Grosjean’s car remains stuck in the garage due to a steering issue. The Franco-Swiss driver only ran for half an hour this morning.

After fifteen minutes, Vettel tops the time sheet, ahead of Hamilton, Rosberg, and Alonso. The Red Bull seems to be performing very well on the Marina Bay circuit, as demonstrated by Webber significantly improving the best time to 1’46″489 and then 1’46″157! Will he be the itch for Vettel this weekend? Mercedes is testing both types of tires with the car unloaded. Hamilton records the third fastest time at 1’46″577, four tenths ahead of Rosberg. The fight boils down to a Red Bull – Mercedes duel. Alonso, in fifth, is a second and four tenths behind Webber.

After thirty minutes, Daniel Ricciardo is the first driver to fit the super-soft tires. This is the fourth time this type of tire is used, after Australia, Monaco, and Canada. Ricciardo sets the second fastest time, at 1’46″406. He improves his best lap on mediums by three seconds! At this pace, the track lap record set by Kimi Räikkönen in 2008, 1’45″599, should be easily beaten this weekend. Romain Grosjean finally starts his session on mediums. Vettel is the first of the top drivers to run on super-soft tires. He beats all three sectors and sets a 1’44″249! Räikkönen’s lap record from 2008 is already broken. Webber is second, six tenths behind Vettel, after brushing the wall during his lap. Alonso and Räikkonen are almost a second and a half behind Red Bull’s No. 1! As Hamilton crosses the line, he is a second and three tenths behind Vettel. Even though we don’t know the fuel loads, Red Bull still looks like the machine to beat this weekend…

After forty-five minutes, the ranking of the “super-softs” session is as follows: Vettel and Webber ensure Red Bull’s domination, ahead of the two Mercedes, then Grosjean, Alonso, Button, Räikkönen, Ricciardo, and Vergne. Nico Rosberg begins the Grand Prix simulation for Mercedes with super-soft tires. He is followed by Webber and Vettel. Hamilton starts his simulation by lapping in 1’52″506. Vettel is faster in every sector compared to the Brit: seven in the first, six in the second, and nine in the third!

After an hour, Alonso switches back to medium tires. This is an opportunity to show that the thermal camera is now equipped on the Ferrari, following the use on Paul di Resta’s Force India in Italy. Maldonado misses a braking point and touches the wall. Nothing serious for the Venezuelan, only his front wing is slightly bent. The drivers switch back to medium tires for the end of the session. Meanwhile, a hydraulic issue once again keeps Romain Grosjean in the garage. His fifth time is an impressive performance, given the limited time he spent on track compared to his competitors.

At the checkered flag, Vettel confirms his dominance ahead of Webber, Rosberg, and Hamilton.

Free Practice 2 Results of the 2013 Singapore Grand Prix: