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.
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POS | DRIVER | TEAM | TYRE | TIME |
1 | ![]() |
MERCEDES | MED | 1:39.909 |
2 | ![]() |
FERRARI | MED | 1:39.944 |
3 | ![]() |
RED BULL RACING RENAULT | MED | 1:39.970 |
4 | ![]() |
MERCEDES | MED | 1:40.051 |
5 | ![]() |
FERRARI | MED | 1:40.103 |
6 | ![]() |
WILLIAMS MERCEDES | MED | 1:40.112 |
7 | ![]() |
RED BULL RACING RENAULT | MED | 1:40.276 |
8 | ![]() |
McLAREN MERCEDES | MED | 1:40.628 |
9 | ![]() |
WILLIAMS MERCEDES | MED | 1:40.638 |
10 | ![]() |
FORCE INDIA MERCEDES | MED | 1:40.691 |
11 | ![]() |
STR RENAULT | MED | 1:40.777 |
12 | ![]() |
McLAREN MERCEDES | MED | 1:41.014 |
13 | ![]() |
SAUBER FERRARI | MED | 1:41.257 |
14 | ![]() |
STR RENAULT | MED | 1:41.325 |
15 | ![]() |
SAUBER FERRARI | MED | 1:41.407 |
16 | ![]() |
FORCE INDIA MERCEDES | MED | 1:41.671 |
17 | ![]() |
LOTUS RENAULT | MED | 1:42.531 |
18 | ![]() |
MARUSSIA FERRARI | MED | 1:43.638 |
19 | ![]() |
MARUSSIA FERRARI | MED | 1:43.752 |
20 | ![]() |
CATERHAM RENAULT | MED | 1:45.703 |
21 | ![]() |
CATERHAM RENAULT | NO TIME | |
22 | ![]() |
LOTUS RENAULT | NO TIME |