Formula 1

Rosberg Leads Close Fight In Second Practice

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Nico Rosberg kept Mercedes at the top of the timesheets in second practice at Sepang although their rivals closed in to set up a fascinating weekend. Just three tenths of a second covered the top seven this afternoon with four different teams represented as Rosberg edged out Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.

The afternoon kicked off in dramatic fashion for Max Chilton who spun his Marussia as he rounded turn three, a corner that may have been comfortably flat out in last year’s cars. The Briton returned to the track later on to set a time on the medium tyres, the same compound Felipe Massa used to set a 1:40.112. The Brazilian was the first leading driver to use the option tyres and was soon usurped by Rosberg, the Mercedes driver breaking into the 1:39s.

Kimi Raikkonen matched his morning result by taking second for Ferrari, suggesting his Melbourne nightmare is a thing of the past, while Sebastian Vettel also ducked below the 1:40 barrier to go third, doing so impressively on his second timed lap with the option tyres. Lewis Hamilton lost time in the middle sector of his lap, leaving him back in fourth, but the Briton would also appear to have time in hand.

After being quickest of all on the hard tyres, Fernando Alonso slipped to fifth on the mediums with Massa and Daniel Ricciardo completing the closely matched top seven. Jenson Button was seven tenths down in eighth with McLaren appearing to struggle in the hotter conditions with Valtteri Bottas and Nico Hulkenberg rounding out the top ten.

Another practice session went by and with it came more misery for Lotus with Pastor Maldonado failing to get out at all. Teammate Romain Grosjean did at least get fourteen laps under his belt but the last of those was halted by a gearbox problem.

 

 2014 PETRONAS MALAYSIA GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE 2 RESULT
POS DRIVER TEAM TYRE TIME
1  6. NICO ROSBERG MERCEDES MED 1:39.909
2  7. KIMI RAIKKONEN FERRARI MED 1:39.944
3  1. SEBASTIAN VETTEL RED BULL RACING RENAULT MED 1:39.970
4  44. LEWIS HAMILTON MERCEDES MED 1:40.051
5  14. FERNANDO ALONSO FERRARI MED 1:40.103
6  19. FELIPE MASSA WILLIAMS MERCEDES MED 1:40.112
7  3. DANIEL RICCIARDO RED BULL RACING RENAULT MED 1:40.276
8  22. JENSON BUTTON McLAREN MERCEDES MED 1:40.628
9  77. VALTTERI BOTTAS WILLIAMS MERCEDES MED 1:40.638
10  27. NICO HULKENBERG FORCE INDIA MERCEDES MED 1:40.691
11  25. JEAN-ERIC VERGNE STR RENAULT MED 1:40.777
12  20. KEVIN MAGNUSSEN McLAREN MERCEDES MED 1:41.014
13  99. ADRIAN SUTIL SAUBER FERRARI MED 1:41.257
14  26. DANIIL KVYAT STR RENAULT MED 1:41.325
15  21. ESTEBAN GUTIERREZ SAUBER FERRARI MED 1:41.407
16  11. SERGIO PEREZ FORCE INDIA MERCEDES MED 1:41.671
17  8. ROMAIN GROSJEAN LOTUS RENAULT MED 1:42.531
18  4. MAX CHILTON MARUSSIA FERRARI MED 1:43.638
19  17. JULES BIANCHI MARUSSIA FERRARI MED 1:43.752
20  9. MARCUS ERICSSON CATERHAM RENAULT MED 1:45.703
21  10. KAMUI KOBAYASHI CATERHAM RENAULT NO TIME
22  13. PASTOR MALDONADO LOTUS RENAULT NO TIME
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