Malaysia – Free Practice 2: Rosberg and Räikkönen confirm, Lotus continues to sink

At the start of this session, Romain Grosjean is the first to go out and set a time, far from the best of the morning. But a yellow flag is caused by Max Chilton, the Marussia driver spins in a corner, stopping at the edge of the track: he has to retire. Times are falling, with Hülkenberg, Button, and Bottas taking turns at the top of the timing sheets while Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen record the 2nd and 3rd fastest times. Another problem for Lotus: Romain Grosjean has to return to the pits slowly, stuck in second gear with no permission to change it. Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton then take first and second place respectively, while the Red Bulls gradually close in.

After 30 minutes, the medium tires make their appearance with Kevin Magnussen. Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa are the first to change the top of the time sheets, while Magnussen, after a first lap that gave him the 15th time, sets the 5th fastest time at 1:41:014. The two Mercedes still have the two best times, Nico Rosberg being the only one to go under the 1:40 mark with a time of 1:39:909. But like this morning, Kimi Räikkönen plays the spoiler by setting the 2nd fastest time. With the medium tires, Sebastian Vettel manages to slot between the two Williams drivers for 6th place, while Fernando Alonso sets the 4th fastest time, behind Lewis Hamilton. But the German from Red Bull improves to also go under the 1:40 mark, with a time of 1:39:970: Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull share the top three spots.

During the last half hour, the drivers are on long stints to carry out race simulations. The tire degradation is quite high, especially for Lewis Hamilton who loses almost 3 tenths per lap, while Lotus manages to send Romain Grosjean back on track. But it doesn’t last long: after 2 flying laps, the gearbox locks up again and the Frenchman stops at the side of the track. Only 3 drivers are not on track: Grosjean, along with Kobayashi and Maldonado, who have not been out all afternoon. The drivers are no longer improving at the end of the session and are fully focused on managing and evaluating the tires, as well as assessing fuel consumption to manage the fuel flow during the race, without exceeding the 100kg/h measured by the FIA fuel flow meter. At Ferrari, Kimi Räikkönen’s rear tires are in agony according to him, but he must continue. A small mistake by Daniel Ricciardo at the end of the session, who slides into the gravel trap.

So it was Nico Rosberg who was the fastest of the day, ahead once again of Kimi Räikkönen but also a more surprising Sebastian Vettel with his Red Bull. The session was marked by the double incident with Romain Grosjean’s gearbox, while McLaren settled into 8th and 12th places.

Free Practice 2 Ranking for the 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix: