Japan – Free Practice 2: Webber Takes the Lead

Jean-Eric Vergne is the first to take off on this challenging circuit for drivers. The Frenchman is followed by Sergio Pérez. The weather remains pleasant with the thermometer showing 27 degrees in the air and 37 on the track.

After barely 5 minutes, Paul di Resta loses control of his Force India at the entry of Spoon, resulting in the red flag being waved. After a break of less than 10 minutes, on-track action resumes. Romain Grosjean then holds the best time of 1:34.514. Fernando Alonso improves on the Lotus driver’s time by 2 tenths. The English team is forced to bring Kimi Räikkönen into the pits due to a KERS problem making the car unsafe.

After 30 minutes, it’s Jenson Button who holds the first place with a time of 1:34.150. The Briton is ahead of Webber and Grosjean. Further down the rankings, Timo Glock gets ahead of both Caterhams, but Petrov is back on track with soft tires. It is also worth noting that the two Mercedes drivers have not yet completed a lap at this point in the session.

After being overshadowed by Vettel and Kobayashi, Button takes back what is due with a 1:33.349, but this time is quickly improved by the only Lotus on track with a lap completed in 1:33.107. Both men have opted for Pirelli’s soft tires. In comparison, Hamilton laps about 1 second slower than his teammate with the hard tires. Felipe Massa makes his way into the top 3.

There are 40 minutes left when Vettel goes under the 1 minute 33 mark with a lap of 1:32.836. He is joined a few minutes later by Hamilton, who improves the German’s time by a tenth, followed by Webber who sets a 1:32.493. Rosberg still doesn’t have a time while Schumacher is in 9th place with 30 minutes remaining in this second practice session.

Yellow flag 13 minutes before the checkered flag caused by Michael Schumacher’s exit in Spoon, just like Paul di Resta at the beginning of the session. The German puts a wheel on the grass while braking and loses control of his Mercedes.

At the end of the session, the drivers prepare for Sunday’s race and the lap times no longer change significantly. At Lotus, Räikkönen’s KERS issue has been resolved, allowing him to return to the track for the last few minutes. It’s important to note that he no longer has the double-DRS on his E20. When the session ends, it’s Webber who is the fastest in this second session, ahead of Hamilton, Vettel, Hülkenberg, and Alonso. The session concludes with Vitaly Petrov’s off-track excursion at the end of the pit straight, caused by the loss of his rear wing.

Free Practice 2 Results of the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix: