GP Japan 2016 - result of 2nd practice

A also in the In the second session at the Japanese Grand Prix 2016, the usual suspects were found in the front seats. As in the first practice session in the morning, Nico Rosberg had the upper hand in Suzuka.

Hamilton closes the gap

However, team-mate Lewis Hamilton moved closer. The duel between the two World Cup rivals no longer took place in tenths, but in thousandths. Rosberg put forward in 1: 32,250 minutes on soft tires after more than half an hour. Hamilton followed suit and was only 0.072 seconds behind the championship leader.

As expected, Mercedes is the strongest team in Japan. Although one does not drive with the best package due to the engine failure of Hamilton in Malaysia. Mercedes switched back to an older oil specification. It is said that this is noticeable with a tenth on the clock. So nothing dramatic.

In the second session, the competition, which was more than a second behind in the morning, moved closer to the Silver Arrows duo. Or rather Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn placed the Ferrari in third place. With a gap of 0.323 seconds.

The Ferrari with starting number 7 turned its fastest track like the rest of the field on the soft tires. But not everything was rosy for Raikkonen. In his long run he complained: 'It feels like I'm driving without a front wing.'

Vettel with no optimal lap

Ferrari tried the upgrade package again in Suzuka new baffles under the nose, a batwing and modifications to the splitter. According to the team, additional new parts will adorn the SF16-H. Sebastian Vettel was of little use in the afternoon. He did not bring his lap together optimally and was fifth, more than eight tenths behind. However, Vettel was also the first top driver on the track who dared a qualifying run with soft tires.

In between, Max Verstappen (+ 0.811) pushed himself in the Red Bull. The shooting star lapped it 5.807 kilometers long course in his RB12 42 thousandths faster than the four-time world champion. Team mate Daniel Ricciardo only managed to move his car to 12th place in his fastest lap.

'Both cars were affected by the virtual safety car phase,' explained Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko. “We weren't with the first training sessionsatisfied. As of the afternoon, ”so the brief summary. “Red Bull was on par with us in the long run,” said Mercedes colleague Niki Lauda. “But it was only Friday. It's all guesswork. On one lap we were 3 tenths ahead. ”

Force India established itself as fourth force on Friday. In the afternoon Sergio Perez was 3 tenths faster than Nico Hülkenberg. The duo finished sixth and seventh. If it goes on like this, Force India can plan to further expand its lead over Williams in the Team World Cup. But be careful: Even in Malaysia, the traditional English racing team did not make a particularly good impression in practice, only to be much stronger in the race.

Wehrlein this time faster than Ocon

At Force India is also expected to face resistance from McLaren. As in the morning, Fernando Alonso was among the top 10 drivers. Behind the Spaniard followed the first Williams with Valtteri Bottas. Carlos Sainz finished tenth.

Daniil Kvyat experienced the hottest moment of the session. The Russian made a high-speed spin in the final corner after he hit the grass with the left half of the vehicle. His Toro Rosso remained intact after the pirouette.

Esteban Gutierrez rolled out 50 minutes before the end in his HaasF1 racing car. The team reported a problem with the turbocharger. In the southern part of the table, Pascal Wehrlein beat his team-mate Esteban Ocon. Albeit close: The gap was a tenth.