PRACTICE TWO
Report – Mixed fortunes for Scuderia Ferrari in the second Friday session. Fernando Alonso was again third, while Kimi Raikkonen had an electrical problem, which did not stop him running, but meant he could not push to the maximum, thus affecting his lap times, so that he ended up fifteenth fastest.
Alonso did 19 laps this afternoon, his best being a 1.49.930, one more than Raikkonen, whose fastest lap was a 1.52.234.
Both drivers continued to work on set-up and completed tyre evaluation work, this time also running the Soft Option brought here by Pirelli.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m49.189s 26
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m49.793s +0.604s 28
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m49.930s +0.741s 19
4. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1m50.327s +1.138s 24
5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m50.659s +1.470s 31
6. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1m50.677s +1.488s 26
7. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault 1m50.725s +1.536s 25
8. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1m50.977s +1.788s 16
9. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 1m51.074s +1.885s 31
10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m51.077s +1.888s 26
11. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault 1m51.383s +2.194s 26
12. Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1m51.450s +2.261s 29
13. Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1m51.573s +2.384s 28
14. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m52.196s +3.007s 25
15. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m52.234s +3.045s 18
16. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1m52.776s +3.587s 23
17. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m53.955s +4.766s 7
18. Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 1m54.040s +4.851s 18
19. Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 1m54.050s +4.861s 30
20. Andre Lotterer Caterham-Renault 1m54.093s +4.904s 24
21. Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault no time 2
22. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault no time
PRACTICE ONE
Report – Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen ended the first free practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix in third and fifth places respectively. On a sun-kissed Spa track, the Spaniard completed 16 laps and the Finn 17.
Alonso’s best time was a 1.51.805 while Raikkonen stopped the clocks in 1.52.818. In the morning, both Scuderia Ferrari drivers worked on set-up as usual and concentrated on assessing the Pirelli Medium tyres, which are being run this weekend along with the Soft compound.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m51.577s 25
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m51.674s +0.097s 24
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m51.805s +0.228s 16
4. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m52.404s +0.827s 21
5. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m52.818s +1.241s 17
6. Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1m52.903s +1.326s 24
7. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 1m52.922s +1.345s 23
8. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m52.937s +1.360s 22
9. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1m52.972s +1.395s 19
10. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1m53.172s +1.595s 20
11. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m53.369s +1.792s 11
12. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault 1m53.594s +2.017s 21
13. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m53.597s +2.020s 20
14. Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1m53.703s +2.126s 14
15. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1m53.968s +2.391s 20
16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault 1m54.189s +2.612s 20
17. Giedo van der Garde Sauber-Ferrari 1m54.335s +2.758s 16
18. Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 1m55.336s +3.759s 21
19. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1m55.782s +4.205s 19
20. Alexander Rossi Marussia-Ferrari 1m57.232s +5.655s 20
21. Andre Lotterer Caterham-Renault 1m57.886s +6.309s 24
22. Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 1m57.977s +6.400s 24
QUOTES
Kimi Raikkonen: “A difficult day, complicated by a series of setbacks which cost us valuable track time. In the morning, I had a brake problem, but once it was sorted, we were able to get through our planned programme for the first session. The new components we brought for this race seem to be working, but only after we have cross-referenced all the data will we be able to work out what is the best package to use for the rest of the weekend. In the afternoon, an electrical problem complicated our work, preventing us from carrying out the race simulation. Tomorrow, we can expect a busy free practice session, in which we will do our best to prepare the car for qualifying and the race.”
Pat Fry: “The Spa circuit is a very enjoyable one for the drivers and at the same time it presents a great challenge for we engineers, especially this year because of the parameters linked to the new Power Unit. In order to gather as much data as possible, we chose to run different programmes with our drivers. Unfortunately, in the second session, Kimi’s work was affected by an electrical problem, which although it didn’t prevent him running, did mean he couldn’t make the most of all the systems. In the first and third sectors, top speed counts the most, while in the middle one, driveability and aerodynamic downforce come into play more and that makes finding the right set-up especially demanding, even more so when looking to the race, because while extra downforce can be an advantage in the second sector, it slows the cars on the straights, making it harder to attack and defend in the race. We are working hard on the efficiency of the car in general and on the thermal energy side of the Power Unit, but I think that at tracks like this one and Monza, which highlights these characteristics on our rivals’ cars, we will have to try and defend with all means available and attack where and when possible.”
KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN SPACE 
Ferrari always hv misfortunes on result between drivers this year but is it going to be continued like this? I almost want to give up watching.
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