| Source: autosport.com | report: lotusf1team.com |
FP2: An encouraging afternoon for Lotus F1 Team here at the Nürburgring saw both Kimi and Romain placed firmly in the top 5 times, with promising long run pace to boot…
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m30.416s 39
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m30.651s + 0.235s 38
3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m30.683s + 0.267s 41
4. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m30.843s + 0.427s 32
5. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m30.848s + 0.432s 27
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m31.056s + 0.640s 39
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m31.059s + 0.643s 41
8. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m31.304s + 0.888s 35
9. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m31.568s + 1.152s 37
10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m31.797s + 1.381s 40
11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m31.824s + 1.408s 34
12. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m31.855s + 1.439s 42
13. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m32.055s + 1.639s 39
14. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.086s + 1.670s 36
15. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.495s + 2.079s 39
16. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.762s + 2.346s 44
17. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m32.879s + 2.463s 35
18. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m32.880s + 2.464s 36
19. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m33.695s + 3.279s 38
20. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m33.804s + 3.388s 40
21. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m34.017s + 3.601s 10
22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m34.667s + 4.251s 39
Kimi Raikkonen – 5th/5th: “We tried quite a few things today; some were good and some were not, so we have a good idea of what to do tomorrow. Our long run pace wasn’t as good as it could have been as we were running with a different setup which would have taken too long to change back during the session, but we now know which setup works better so it’s not a worry. The rear tyres weren’t much different, but we already knew that from when we tried them in Canada.”
Romain Grosjean – 9th/4th: “We had a pretty good day today. We ran the Device in the morning to gather some data then went back to our previous package for the afternoon, where we played with the setup a little but spent most of the time analysing the new tyres. We made a step forward with the upgrades that were brought to Silverstone, and we’re seeing the benefit here as well. Getting temperature into the tyres can be a bit tricky for us in colder conditions, but today it wasn’t an issue which is a good sign. It’s only free practice, but the car feels ok so let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “It was a fairly routine day for us. Romain ran the Device in the morning in order to gather more data, which we did, but there is no plan to run it for the rest of the weekend as any potential benefit is only marginal at this track. Kimi concentrated on setup work in the morning using the new slimline aero package. In the afternoon, both cars went with the slimline package. With Kimi’s car we tried a different aero setup at the rear, which didn’t deliver quite the results we wanted. Neither driver was 100% happy with their car today, but we look to be in reasonable shape on the soft tyre and on long runs too. We’ve certainly got some more pace to come from the car, so we’re hoping for a productive day tomorrow.”
A dry but overcast start to the weekend here at the Nürburgring saw Kimi and Romain end the morning in P5 / P9 respectively; each trying out the other’s Silverstone upgrades as development of the E21 continues…
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m31.754s 25
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m31.973s + 0.219s 25
3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m32.789s + 1.035s 22
4. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m32.822s + 1.068s 16
5. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m32.956s + 1.202s 22
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m33.065s + 1.311s 18
7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m33.139s + 1.385s 24
8. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m33.213s + 1.459s 20
9. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m33.260s + 1.506s 27
10. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m33.456s + 1.702s 18
11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m33.493s + 1.739s 18
12. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m33.810s + 2.056s 20
13. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m33.901s + 2.147s 23
14. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m33.976s + 2.222s 26
15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m34.025s + 2.271s 20
16. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m34.200s + 2.446s 22
17. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m34.437s + 2.683s 24
18. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m35.674s + 3.920s 23
19. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m35.987s + 4.233s 19
20. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m36.078s + 4.324s 23
21. Rodolfo Gonzalez Marussia-Cosworth 1m37.459s + 5.705s 21
22. Fernando Alonso Ferrari no time 2