Malaysia – Free Practice 2: Räikkönen Impresses Before the Rain

The drivers take off on a track heated to 40°C and with an ambient temperature of 33°C for this second practice session, where the Medium (white) tires are expected to be tested after the teams focused exclusively on the hardest (orange) tires provided by Pirelli.

From the beginning of the session, the drivers launch an assault on the stopwatch with Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) setting the first benchmark time at 1:39.399 on Hard tires. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) and Kimi Räikkönen (Lotus) lower this benchmark, the Finn clocking a best lap of 1:37.302, drafting behind Giedo van der Garde’s Caterham.

Author of an optimistic run over a rumble strip, Esteban Gutiérrez (Sauber) complains of white smoke emanating from his cockpit: it’s the onboard extinguisher that has been triggered, probably due to a problem encountered with the exhausts of the Mexican’s C32.

At the end of the first fifteen minutes and the first stint on Hard tires, Kimi Räikkönen leads ahead of Alonso, Vettel, Di Resta, Webber, Massa, Sutil, Grosjean, Pérez, and Gutiérrez, while the two Mercedes are at the back of the pack.

First driver to fit the Medium tires, Jean-Eric Vergne clocks a lap in 1:38.738. The Frenchman is soon imitated by his fellow drivers as forecasters announce imminent precipitation. With these tires, Felipe Massa (Ferrari) takes the fastest time with 1:36.661. Note that most drivers, after their fast lap, let their tires cool down. While Kimi Räikkönen persists with the Hard tires with orange sidewalls, on his first flying lap with the white sidewall tires, Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) improves the fastest time to 1:36.588.

After 30 minutes of trials, the German is ahead of the two Ferrari drivers and his teammate, Mark Webber. The Lotus drivers follow, Räikkönen ahead of Grosjean, with Paul di Resta, Adrian Sutil, Jenson Button, and Sergio Pérez behind them, as if in a parade. At the back of the standings, Jules Bianchi is ahead of Valtteri Bottas, Charles Pic, Giedo van der Garde, and Max Chilton.

As Adrian Sutil steps out in his pit, with his Force India elevated on trestles due to an issue under investigation, Nico Rosberg and Kimi Räikkönen head out on Medium tires, the softest offered by Pirelli. The German climbs to seventh place while the Australian Grand Prix winner takes the lead with a time of 1:36.569. Lewis Hamilton, on his first attempt with Medium tires, does no better than ninth place.

At the mid-session, the first drops of rain appear on the Malaysian circuit. Initially, due to the heat, the precipitation doesn’t seem to disrupt the smooth running of the tests, but the drivers gradually begin to experience their first rear-end slippages, especially in turns 7 and 8. It’s not yet the usual Malaysian deluge, but the drivers exercise caution and return to the pits.

Testimony of the intensity of the heat, water vapor escapes from the track. In these conditions, Sergio Pérez (McLaren) is the first driver to set off with wet track tires. The Mexican, on Intermediate tires with green sidewalls, makes a practice start at the end of the straight, imitated by his compatriot, Esteban Gutiérrez (Sauber), who is equipped with Rain tires with blue sidewalls.

Under the rain, Jenson Button (McLaren) is consistently the fastest on track, while some, notably Sergio Pérez and Gierdo van der Garde, get caught out by the precarious conditions, even though the track is drying.

As the last ten minutes begin, Jean-Eric Vergne is the first to switch back to slick tires, followed by Mark Webber. However, the conditions are no longer optimal to challenge the hierarchy established at the beginning of the session, even though the track, slightly refreshed by the rain, seems to have less pronounced tire degradation.

Free Practice 2 Results of the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix: