28/07/2012
NEWS STORY
Ahead of today's free practice session the air temperature is 28 degrees C, while the track temperature is 37 degrees.
Yesterday's opening session was held in ideal conditions, warm and bright, however, the last thirty minutes of the afternoon session was affected by a rain shower that turned out to be a little bit heavier than expected, leaving standing water and rivers on some parts of the track whilst others soon became dry.
There is talk of further rain this weekend, particularly on Sunday afternoon.
Lewis Hamilton was quickest in both session, with teammate Jenson Button and world championship leader Fernando Alonso in close attendance, however, it was the pace of the Red Bulls - or lack of it that was the main talking point.
While the Austrian team and Renault is playing down the significance of the FIA's ruling on engine mapping, claiming that it hasn't affected performance, others are not so sure. The times, coupled with the looks on the faces of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber appeared to reflect this.
Kovalainen is first out when the pitlane opens, the Finn followed by Grosjean and Petrov.
Within the first couple of minutes all but Vettel, Schumacher, Hulkenberg and Ricciardo have been out, most returning to their garages after the obligatory installation lap. Maldonado, Rosberg, Massa, Button and a couple of others stay out for a second lap.
Rosberg posts the first time of the day, the Mercedes driver crossing the line at 31.902, around 10s off yesterday's best from Hamilton. Moments later, Vergne posts 25.368.
Vettel's first flying lap, the German and his teammate getting to work surprisingly early, sees the world champion go quickest (24.537), however, he is soon demoted by Vergne and then Webber (23.359).
Not having run on the softer rubber yesterday, Marussia give their drivers a couple of laps before switching them back to mediums.
A 23.058 sees Vettel go quickest, 0.101s ahead of his teammate, with Hulkenberg third ahead of Vergne and Grosjean. However, we've yet to see the Ferraris or McLarens.
Raikkonen, who says he is now almost completely happy with the Lotus, posts 22.718, many believing the Finn to be this weekend's dark horse.
Drivers continue to run wide at certain corners. Notoriously dusty at the best of times, the rubber laid down yesterday morning was subsequently washed away by the rain shower. Grosjean runs wide at T4, Vettel also, while Webber does it at T6.
Senna pops up in third with a 23.052, as, with 40:51 on the clock, we have yet to see di Resta or the Ferraris post a time. Hamilton is eighth and Button eighteenth.
Hamilton goes quickest in S1 going on to post a PB in S2. At the line the McLaren driver posts 22.773 to go second, 0.055s off Raikkonen's time. Teammate Capt Grippy complains of "too much front end".
As the Ferrari duo finally climb into their cars, Alonso, in particular, looking very, very confident, Hamilton bangs in a 22.224 having gone quickest in the final two sectors.
Grosjean goes third with a 22.882 to make it a Lotus 2-3 as Vettel leaves the pits on softs, along with Vergne one of the first drivers to make the switch.
On the softer rubber, Vergne goes third (22.492) as Alonso heads down the pitlane.
Hamilton goes quickest in all three sectors, crossing the line at 21.706, the quickest lap of the weekend so far.
As Massa heads down the pitlane, Vettel goes quickest in S1, going on to post a PB in S2. At the line the German posts 21.671, just 0.035s quicker than Hamilton who was on mediums.
Webber (softs), goes quickest in S2, breaking the timing beam at 21.871 to go third. The early switch to softs combined with pace appears to suggest that Red Bull really is hurting no matter how much they deny it.
At half-time, it's: Vettel, Hamilton, Webber, Raikkonen, Vergne, Perez, Ricciardo, Grosjean, Senna and Maldonado.
Alonso's first lap sees the Spaniard go eighth (22.754) while Massa goes twenty-third (27.758). Elsewhere, Webber goes quickest with a 21.550.
Grosjean, Senna and Maldonado make the switch to softs, as Alonso improves to fifth with 22.460. Massa goes ninth (22.850).
Button is on a longer run, the drivers Friday programmes having been compromised by yesterday's rain.
Massa, currently twelfth, runs wide, the temperature having risen by 5 degrees since the session got underway.
Schumacher, who crashed in the wet yesterday, is currently rooted at the very bottom of the timesheets with his teammate, both having completed 19 laps, along with Hulkenberg, more than anyone else.
The Mercedes duo leave the pits, both shod with soft rubber. Rosberg post a PB in the first two sectors, finally crossing the line at 23.256 to go fifteenth. Disappointing.
Schumacher is even further off the pace, failing to improve on his previous best (28.277).
As Schumacher posts a PB in S1, Alonso heads down the pitlane on softs. Schumacher improves to sixteenth (23.639) one place behind his teammate.
Alonso posts PBs in the first two sectors, crossing the line at 21.884 to go fifth. However, Hamilton, now on softs, goes second with a 21.643, 0.093s off Webber's best. The Englishman was looking good until a slight mistake in the final sector.
Impressive pace from Senna, the Brazilian going fourth with a 21.876. Elsewhere, de la Rosa moans that changes to his cars rear-end set-up have made things worse.
As Massa post a PB in S1, Kobayashi improves to eleventh, Sauber keeping a low profile this morning.
Now on softs, Button posts a PB in S1 and again in S2, at the line the 2009 world champion posts 22.382 to go eleventh. PBs in all three sectors but the mood in the McLaren garage is obvious, he should have done better.
With 4:00 on the clock, all but Alonso are on track, all but Ricciardo on softs. Hamilton asks how far he is off the pace, he's told less than a tenth.
The clock ticks down, Hamilton, Raikkonen and Massa join Alonso in the pits while the Mercedes duo are seventeenth and eighteenth. Is the German team that much off the pace or is it banking on rain?
A late charge sees Grosjean go quickest in S2, the Frenchman subsequently diving into the pits. Elsewhere, Schumacher almost trips over Maldonado as they enter the pitlane.
The session ends with Webber quickest, ahead of Hamilton, Vettel, Senna, Alonso, Raikkonen, Grosjean, Massa, di Resta and Button.
Maldonado is eleventh, ahead of Kobayashi, Vergne, Hulkenberg, Perez, Ricciardo, Schumacher, Rosberg, Kovalainen, Petrov, Pic, Glock, de la Rosa and Karthikeyan.