Singapore – Free Practice 2: Rosberg leads; Räikkönen, Verstappen and Ricciardo within touching distance

The night has truly fallen on the Marina Bay track at the start of this second practice session, even though the powerful lighting system installed around the circuit almost makes us forget it. As the green light flashes in the pit lane, the Manors are the first to launch, with Esteban Ocon following closely behind Pascal Wehrlein.

GREEN LIGHT 🚥

FP2 is under way, under the lights#SingaporeGP 🇸🇬 #F1NightRace 🌃 pic.twitter.com/xp7mFOR8or

— Formula 1 (@F1) 16 septembre 2016

A first run for the best time

Barely ten minutes into the session, and already Räikkönen, equipped with super-soft tires, records a lap in 1’46″167, three-tenths off the best time of the morning. Fernando Alonso has a small slide at the wheel of his McLaren and brushes against the barrier in turn 10; Carlos Sainz does the same a few laps later. The battle for the best time is on, and in this game, Lewis Hamilton doesn’t miss the mark and achieves a time of 1’45″275, with Daniel Ricciardo recording the second-fastest time at +0″345 behind the Brit. On a second attempt, he loses his car, which ends up upside down in sector 2, causing a double yellow flag.

A few moments later, it was Esteban Ocon’s turn to kiss the track walls twice at turns 20 and 22, marking his presence just like Vettel, Alonso, and Kvyat at turn 22. These ultra-soft tires are used sparingly at the beginning of the second session, and there’s skepticism about the difference between the red and purple tires. Vettel then sets out for a fast lap on ultra-softs and snatches the best time from the Briton by 9 milliseconds.

A third of the way through the session, it’s ultimately another German who holds the fastest time: Nico Rosberg, sporting purple-banded tires, records a time of 1:44.152, securing the absolute best in sectors 1 and 2. The second fastest time was then held by Kimi Räikkönen who, just seconds before Rosberg, had done better than his teammate, making Vettel 3rd and Hamilton 4th. The Red Bulls are currently 5th and 6th. Sergio Pérez, Daniil Kvyat, Nico Hülkenberg, and Esteban Gutierrez complete the top 10.

Second run and a great battle for the best time

The attack laps multiply, and we see many drivers struggling with their tires while taking turns making steering adjustments to keep their single-seaters on track. Hamilton slips in turn 1 then in 10, Nasr goes straight at the braking of turn 15. The Frenchman Romain Grosjean has a major off in the last corner. Going to the outside, he hits the rear of his car and tears off the outer parts of his rear wing. He previously complained about brake issues over the radio. Upon returning to the pits, cracks on the floor were also found, necessitating a replacement: Grosjean is indeed unlucky at the start of this weekend.

GRO loses his rear end and 🔄 😣 🔄

Escapes the barrier but leaves some of his rear wing there#SingaporeGP 🇸🇬 #FP2 pic.twitter.com/X1j43c2uVa

— Formula 1 (@F1) 16 septembre 2016

At mid-session, the standings changed little, but the Red Bull team improved their performance and times.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (HALFWAY THROUGH #FP2)#SingaporeGP 🇸🇬 pic.twitter.com/EvSW80OeuT

— Formula 1 (@F1) 16 septembre 2016

The time is now for long stints

We are now entering the final third of the session, almost all drivers have switched to race simulation: it’s time for tire management, which allows the drivers to ease their efforts to cope with the stifling atmosphere in Singapore. Rosberg is doing this stint on ultra-softs and is clocking times in the 1’50 range. Hamilton has returned to the pits and stepped out of his car to head towards the paddock. Mercedes informs us of a slight hydraulic issue on his car. Räikkönen is carrying out this stint with super-softs and is recording times similar to Rosberg. For Daniel Ricciardo, the super-softs have also been chosen to conduct the stint simulation.

The last third of the session was finally conducted in imperial calm, with relay simulations following one another and time improvements not on the agenda for the teams. At the checkered flag: Rosberg holds the best time, with Räikkönen and Verstappen in the top 3. Ricciardo is a few hundredths behind his teammate while Vettel is six-tenths off the top 4. Nico Hülkenberg holds the 6th best time ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who had to cut his session short. Sainz, Alonso, and Kvyat complete the top 10. Romain Grosjean is struggling at the start of the weekend, having covered only 12 laps over the two sessions this Friday.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF #FP2)

ROS and RAI turn the tables on the Red Bulls #SingaporeGP 🇸🇬 pic.twitter.com/DKgqWnPdGW

— Formula 1 (@F1) 16 septembre 2016