Source: autosport.com | lotusf1team.com | twitter
A slightly cooler but equally as bright start to day two at Suzuka as Kimi and Romain worked through a raft of setup options to finish the morning in P12 / P7 respectively after the final practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend.
Kimi Räikkönen, E20-05
Position : P12
Fastest Lap : 1:33.224
Laps Completed : 14
Key Moments :
00mins : Install run on a new set of hard tyres
12mins : Brief opening run ; reports excessive sliding from the rear
31mins : Second dose of track action with roll bar changes ; still not comfortable with the rear
41mins : Third crack of the whip ; tweaked setup does not do the trick, with heavy front and loose rear end now on the cards
54mins : Final attempt ; soft tyres and yet more mechanical adjustments see the Finn immediately climb into the top ten despite not getting a clean lap
Summary:
- Following a number of incidents during Friday practice, the entry to T13 [Spoon Curve] was modified to ensure the run-off astroturf sat level with the track
- Only one minor interruption to proceedings as Nico Hulkenberg planted his Force India in the wall on exiting Degner 2
- Both drivers used the silver marked hard compound Pirelli tyre for the majority of the session, with the yellow marked soft appearing briefly in the closing stages
- Kimi ran through a number of setup changes – predominantly to roll bar settings – in an attempt to create a more stable rear end to the car
- Romain reported understeer in the early stages, which was seemingly cured with a front wing change
- Both drivers completed practice starts at the end of running in preparation for Sunday’s race
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m32.136 16 2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m32.371s + 0.235 19 3. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m32.824s + 0.688 12 4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m32.918s + 0.782 22 5. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.920s + 0.784 18 6. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.924s + 0.788 14 7. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m33.008s + 0.872 20 8. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m33.025s + 0.889 15 9. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m33.094s + 0.958 16 10. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m33.160s + 1.024 15 11. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m33.184s + 1.048 13 12. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m33.224s + 1.088 14 13. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m33.56$s + 1.433 13 14. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m33.722s + 1.586 17 15. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m33.899s + 1.763 22 16. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m33.984s + 1.848 18 17. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m34.023s + 1.887 18 18. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m34.369s + 2.233 11 19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m35.568s + 3.432 18 20. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m36.355s + 4.219 17 21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m36.389s + 4.253 11 22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m36.517s + 4.381 17 23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m36.649s + 4.513 11 24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m36.875s + 4.739 15
KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN SPACE 