Formula One Latest: The Japanese Grand Prix – Practice Session 2
Bettor.com welcomes you to the 2nd practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix. Red Bull were off the blocks quickest and made their dominant selves felt in the morning session with Vettel out-pacing his teammate Webber for the
top spot. Robert Kubica and Adrian Sutil were 3rd and 4th respectively. The McLaren of Lewis Hamilton was under par as it managed fifth. Hamilton lost control of his car and crashed, which meant losing valuable practice time and Button too went off the same
corner but escaped unharmed and contact-free from the barriers. The Ferraris on the other hand did not set an aggressive time as they were running a technical program.
As the free practice session number 2 flagged off at Suzuka, it appeared that none of the drivers wanted to waste any time – most of the grid completed its installation laps in the first five minutes. However, Hamilton, Glock,
Rosberg, Webber and Vettel were yet to start.
Fernando Alonso was able to put together decent race pace and it looked that the Ferrari was finally beginning to flex its muscles. Hamilton’s crash in the practice session prior meant missing practice for the day. The McLaren
mechanics were working on fixing his car to somehow get their leading driver out before the end of the session.
The Red Bull drivers joined the party shortly. Webber and Vettel claimed the top two timings to re-ascertain their grip on the streets of Suzuka. They were also the first to break the 1 minute 33 seconds barrier in the session
in question. Whereas, Robert Kubica and local boy Yamamoto had separate excursions on the gravel travel trap to keep things interesting.
More than half an hour passed in the practice period. Both Red Bulls were still left unchallenged for their top 2. Vitaly had a strong run and settled just behind the two Red Bulls after crossing the 1 minute 32 second mark. Halfway
through the session saw Michael Schumacher post faster times than his team mate Nico Rosberg. However, Force India’s Adrian Sutil was able to go one up on the seven time Formula One champion. Interestingly, both drivers are also competing for the 9th spot
in the championship.
Moments later, Buemi spun his Toro Rosso and re-joined the track. Timo Glock was a lot more efficient on the other hand. He was the fastest driver among the new teams. The coming laps saw both Red Bulls crossing the 1 minute 32
second barrier. Sebastian Vettel was still the faster of the two.
The second Degner was evidently proving a handful. After claiming Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, the turn added Michael Schumacher to its victims. The Mercedes driver was able to avoid the barriers though as he re-joined the
race.
The apparent hard work of the McLaren team paid dividends. With a mere 8 minutes to go in the practice session, Lewis Hamilton was able to get his car at pace and away from the pit lane. He further went on to set a time – the McLaren
was 18th fastest as less than 5 minutes remained on the clock.
The second practice session drew to a close.
Red Bull dominated the opening practice sessions at Suzuka whereas McLaren suffered due to Hamilton's crash in the first session. Kubica also proved to be strong. Both the Ferraris are sandwiched between the two Renault drivers.
Schumacher finished ahead of rival Sutil and teammate Rosberg as well.
This was perhaps the last opportunity for the 12 teams participating to make full use of the dry conditions. With rain expected for the remainder of the weekend, lap times were assumed to be slower. However, how well a team is
able to do shall be decided on the final practice session before qualifying, The Ferrari is reputed to be faster in wet conditions. There could also be a couple of teams that may still be putting up a good poker face before qualifying, meaning that any guesses
based on both practice sessions may need to be revised.
Things were already close at the top end of the driver’s championships. However, with varying weather conditions, the race itself promised to be an action packed feature.
Tags: