Red Bull Racing notched up another ominous practice session where they dominated proceedings in their usual form. Sebastian Vettel comfortably led teammate Mark Webber by a large sixth-tenths of a second in the Australian veteran’s final race on European soil.
Despite running an upgraded long-wheelbase, Kimi Räikkönen posted an identical lap time to teammate Romain Grosjean, who was running the standard-spec E21. The time the two Lotuses posted was a 1:25.116, just 0.040s behind Webber.
Ferrari is looking to have a positive weekend, with Fernando Alonso ending up in fifth position, two tenths off Räikkönen and Grosjean. Along with the Lotus, the Ferrari performed well during their timed flying lap pace, and weren’t too far off the pace of Red Bull in race simulation.
Mercedes were lacking a few tenths during their high fuel load runs, however they’re still posting competitive lap times over a flying lap, proving they can still be a threat Sunday providing they qualify well.
Alonso’’s teammate Felipe Massa was joined by the two McLarens of Jenson Button and Sergio Pérez to round off the top ten, albeit a second off Vettel’s best lap. Pérez, on the medium tyre, was a further 0.1 seconds off his teammate’s best lap on the hard tyre.
A poor practice session saw the Toro Rosso boys finish down in 15th and 17th positions, sandwiching the equally underperforming car of Nico Hülkenberg. Red Bull-bound Daniel Ricciardo branded his run on the medium-compound tyre ‘a disaster.’
Max Chilton is starting to show his talent, finishing ahead of both Caterhams and his teammate Jules Bianchi, who finished the session slowest, although the Frenchman’s showing was no doubt in part due to having to sit out of the opening practice session while the team’s pay-reserve driver Rodolfo González had another practice outing.
2013 Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 Session Times:
Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps | ||
1. | Sebastian Vettel | ![]() |
Red Bull Racing Renault RB9 | 1:24.453 | 39 | |
2. | Mark Webber | ![]() |
Red Bull Racing Renault RB9 | 1:25.076 | + 0.623 | 39 |
3. | Kimi Räikkönen | ![]() |
Lotus F1 Renault E21 | 1:25.116 | + 0.663 | 36 |
4. | Romain Grosjean | ![]() |
Lotus F1 Renault E21 | 1:25.116 | + 0.663 | 40 |
5. | Fernando Alonso | ![]() |
Scuderia Ferrari F138 | 1:25.330 | + 0.877 | 38 |
6. | Lewis Hamilton | ![]() |
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1W04 | 1:25.340 | + 0.887 | 39 |
7. | Nico Rosberg | ![]() |
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1W04 | 1:25.367 | + 0.914 | 42 |
8. | Felipe Massa | ![]() |
Scuderia Ferrari F138 | 1:25.519 | + 1.066 | 29 |
9. | Jenson Button | ![]() |
McLaren Mercedes MP4-28 | 1:25.532 | + 1.079 | 42 |
10. | Sergio Pérez | ![]() |
McLaren Mercedes MP4-28 | 1:25.627 | + 1.174 | 39 |
11. | Paul di Resta | ![]() |
Force India Mercedes VJM06 | 1:25.830 | + 1.377 | 40 |
12. | Esteban Gutiérrez | ![]() |
Sauber Ferrari C32 | 1:25.888 | + 1.435 | 40 |
13. | Adrian Sutil | ![]() |
Force India Mercedes VJM06 | 1:26.028 | + 1.575 | 37 |
14. | Pastor Maldonado | ![]() |
Williams Renault FW35 | 1:26.138 | + 1.685 | 36 |
15. | Jean-Éric Vergne | ![]() |
Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari STR8 | 1:26.224 | + 1.771 | 32 |
16. | Nico Hülkenberg | ![]() |
Sauber Ferrari C32 | 1:26.385 | + 1.932 | 43 |
17. | Daniel Ricciardo | ![]() |
Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari STR8 | 1:26.599 | + 2.146 | 39 |
18. | Valtteri Bottas | ![]() |
Williams Renault FW35 | 1:27.198 | + 2.745 | 44 |
19. | Max Chilton | ![]() |
Marussia Cosworth MR02 | 1:27.548 | + 3.095 | 30 |
20. | Charles Pic | ![]() |
Caterham Renault CT03 | 1:27.696 | + 3.243 | 37 |
21. | Giedo van der Garde | ![]() |
Caterham Renault CT03 | 1:27.771 | + 3.318 | 38 |
22. | Jules Bianchi | ![]() |
Marussia Cosworth MR02 | 1:28.057 | + 3.604 | 32 |
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Richard Bailey
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