PRACTICE TWO
Report – It was a productive second practice session for Scuderia Ferrari as the two drivers completed 85 laps between them, acquiring valuable data for the engineers to now analyse, to prepare for tomorrow’s qualifying and Sunday’s race. The extensive running was also a good thing for the drivers, returning to Spielberg after an eleven year break and thus letting them get to know the track again.
Fernando Alonso did 40 laps, with a best time of 1.10.470, which put him third fastest. Kimi Raikkonen did 45 laps, stopping the clocks in 1.10.974, which put him in eleventh place, although the Finn never got a proper clean lap. Once again, a Mercedes driver topped the time sheet, this time Lewis Hamilton in 1.09.542.
As usual, in the final third of the session, the focus switched to running in race configuration, with Alonso and Raikkonen, as well as the other drivers doing some long runs on both the Soft and Supersoft tyres. Front tyre graining was a feature of the session for many. Free practice 3 takes place tomorrow at 11h00.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m09.542s 37
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m09.919s +0.377s 50
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m10.470s +0.928s 40
4. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1m10.519s +0.977s 44
5. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1m10.521s +0.979s 39
6. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m10.807s +1.265s 39
7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m10.813s +1.271s 44
8. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1m10.920s +1.378s 36
9. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 1m10.936s +1.394s 45
10. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault 1m10.972s +1.430s 39
11. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m10.974s +1.432s 45
12. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault 1m11.261s +1.719s 45
13. Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1m11.296s +1.754s 36
14. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m11.491s +1.949s 42
15. Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 1m11.765s +2.223s 30
16. Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1m11.806s +2.264s 42
17. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m11.935s +2.393s 39
18. Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 1m12.229s +2.687s 43
19. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m12.262s +2.720s 46
20. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1m12.279s +2.737s 36
21. Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault 1m12.937s +3.395s 24
22. Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 1m13.596s +4.054s 48
QUOTES
Kimi Raikkonen: “Today was particularly busy, which is normal when you go back to a track for the first time in many years. Despite the changeable weather reducing the amount of track time in the first session, we still managed to complete our programme, which today centred on analysing new aerodynamic parts brought for this race. Along with Fernando, we concentrated on different set-up tests, me on the front end and him on the rear, so as to compare the data from the second session. In the afternoon, I had a better feeling from the car, but for various reasons, including a lack of grip, traffic and the wind, I didn’t manage to put together a good lap, or to improve in the final sector.”
Pat Fry: “Coming back here after eleven years made for a bit more work on this first day on track. Kimi and Fernando did a total of 129 laps and even if this is one of the shortest tracks on the calendar, Spielberg presents a demanding series of drops and climbs and luckily, both our drivers are among the few to have driven here before. The cold track in the morning complicated the task of getting the Soft tyres up to temperature, but things went better on the Supersoft in the afternoon. Over the two sessions, we made various set-up changes to meet the demands of the different driving styles of our drivers and we did see a slight improvement. Of course, we can’t say we’re pleased with that, because we still need to find the perfect balance and therefore we will need to make the most of today’s data to work on the handling of the car. Qualifying will be very close, especially because on such a short track, just a tenth of a second can win or lose you several places on the grid, so we will need to get a clean lap without traffic. As far as race pace is concerned, behind the Mercedes there’s a group of cars all quite close together, doing very similar lap times, so a good grid position would mean not having to chase after the others.”
Raikkonen: “My front left is very worn down, I’m struggling to get the car in the corners.” Lloyd: “OK box this lap.” #F1
— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) June 20, 2014
BEN ANDERSON reports that Raikkonen bounced over the sausage kerb at Turn 1 as Alonso closed on him. #F1 — AUTOSPORT Live (@autosportlive) June 20, 2014
Raikkonen chastises Lloyd for talking to him on the radio in slow corners. They’re getting on just fine… #F1
— AUTOSPORT Live (@autosportlive) June 20, 2014
PRACTICE ONE
Report – There was some rain during the first free practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix and that affected plans for Scuderia Ferrari and the other teams in the final half hour on this new venue, where acquiring as much data as possible was on the agenda. In the first hour, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen worked on set-up and tyres, but the track provided very little grip and there were plenty of off-track excursions.
Fernando Alonso did 23 laps on his way to third fastest time in 1.11.606, while Kimi Raikkonen’s best was a 1.12.365. The Finn’s second quick lap never happened, as he was affected by traffic and the rain. In the final part of the session, the rain got heavier and so no one was able to improve.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m11.295s 19
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m11.435s +0.140s 32
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m11.606s +0.311s 23
4. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1m11.756s +0.461s 27
5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m11.839s +0.544s 33
6. Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1m12.009s +0.714s 33
7. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m12.072s +0.777s 20
8. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1m12.114s +0.819s 21
9. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 1m12.313s +1.018s 36
10. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault 1m12.364s +1.069s 30
11. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m12.365s +1.070s 21
12. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault 1m12.372s +1.077s 35
13. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1m12.570s +1.275s 28
14. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m12.984s +1.689s 19
15. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m12.988s +1.693s 25
16. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m13.168s +1.873s 28
17. Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 1m13.642s +2.347s 27
18. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1m13.738s +2.443s 26
19. Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 1m13.857s +2.562s 28
20. Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault 1m14.611s +3.316s 24
21. Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1m14.691s +3.396s 9
22. Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 1m17.501s +6.206s 8
KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN SPACE 