German GP – Free Practice 2: Webber and Red Bull Respond to Ferrari

Just before the start of the session, the weather information leaves little uncertainty: rain shouldn’t be a factor, and many drivers take to the track. Sergio Perez is the first to set a time before many other drivers follow suit.

But Fernando Alonso quickly sets a very fast lap, as he did this morning with soft tires. Teams seem to have changed their working method this weekend, with many drivers initially using soft tires before switching to mediums this morning. After a few laps, the first incident occurred with Daniel Ricciardo stopping and parking his car at the side of the track, with a cloud of smoke escaping from his car, likely oil. Sebastian Vettel, on medium tires, manages to climb to second place, displacing Lewis Hamilton who was also on medium tires, and gets to within less than a second of Fernando Alonso’s best time set on soft tires. But Mark Webber then inserts himself between the Spaniard and the German. As for the Mercedes team, they seem to be on long stints with soft tires, likely working on the premature wear of the softest tires by the W002 since the season began. The Ferrari, on the other hand, seems to be back to its best, with Felipe Massa ranking just behind Sebastian Vettel, with the three drivers behind Fernando Alonso all on medium tires.

In the middle of the standings, the Williams seem a bit behind compared to their direct competitors, while Sebastien Buemi was able to take to the track despite his morning accident. Shortly after, Vitaly Petrov puts on the test soft tires brought by Pirelli this Friday and records the 5th fastest time, two-tenths behind Felipe Massa, before improving to eventually surpass him. The Russian attacks very strongly and proves that Lotus Renault is back, at least in testing unlike at Silverstone. After fitting the soft tires, Felipe Massa proves faster than Fernando Alonso and takes first place with a two-tenths lead, and then pushes the time again to have a half-second lead over his teammate, with the three best sectors.

The Swiss driver from Toro Rosso, on the other hand, seems to be suffering from the consequences of his morning accident, having still not completed a timed lap, and the mechanics are working on his car, while multiple drivers are experiencing wheel lock-ups. Meanwhile, Vitaly Petrov displaces Sebastian Vettel from fourth place with Pirelli’s test tires, while Fernando Alonso returns to the track. The Spaniard even overtakes his teammate for first place while Lewis Hamilton takes third position, ahead of the two Red Bull drivers and Vitaly Petrov. The double world champion Spaniard had a scare going into the gravel while trying to improve the benchmark time. But it’s Michael Schumacher who creates a little surprise by setting the third-fastest time with his soft tires, just behind Felipe Massa. However, Mark Webber, on a set of soft tires, is on the attack and sets the fastest time, one-tenth quicker than Fernando Alonso. Then it’s Paul di Resta’s turn to set a good time and displace Vitaly Petrov from sixth place, before his teammate, Adrian Sutil, improves further.

After an hour of testing, it’s a Red Bull leading the charge, with Mark Webber at the helm while Sebastian Vettel has left the pits on soft tires. It also seems that Mercedes is closing in on Ferrari ahead of the McLarens, while Force India is faster than Lotus Renault. Lower down the standings, the hierarchy doesn’t seem as clear. After his second lap, the reigning world champion ranks 3rd after recording the best final sector but losing a lot of time in the second, while Jenson Button is also attacking on soft tires.

Timo Glock is caught out in the second sector by going into the gravel but manages to escape without damage before returning to the track. Many drivers are on track with 20 minutes remaining in the session, and times are improving in the pack, like Vitaly Petrov who gets ahead of the two Force India cars for eighth place. The new exhausts of the LRGP do not yet seem up to standard, with Nick Heidfeld half a second behind the Russian. Fifteen minutes into the session, only Jenson Button and Nick Heidfeld are not on track even though their cars are ready, before the second LRGP driver joins them.

The last laps see few changes in the hierarchy, apart from the advancement of the German from Lotus Renault ahead of Vitaly Petrov, by just 40 thousandths.

It is therefore Mark Webber who finishes ahead of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, while Mercedes seems to be back in the race, unlike McLaren which is trailing today, just ahead of Lotus Renault. Tomorrow also promises to be difficult for Virgin and HRT drivers who are not sure to pass the 107% rule.

Free Practice 2 Results of the 2011 German Grand Prix: