GP Europe – Free Practice 2: Alonso edges out Hamilton by a hair

The temperature is higher than this morning with the thermometer showing 25 degrees as the lights turn green. The Force India mechanics are busy working on Paul di Resta’s car following Nico Hülkenberg’s accident this morning.

Jérôme D’Ambrosio is the first to hit the track for this second practice session. The Belgian is quickly followed by Petrov, second this morning, Pérez, and Kovalainen. The Virgin driver sets his first lap time at 1:47.730. This time is repeatedly beaten before the two Ferrari drivers take to the track. Alonso logically places himself at the top of the timesheet with a 1:40.857. All drivers are equipped with the hardest tires provided by Pirelli. The top drivers are already on track in the first quarter-hour with the two Ferraris, the two McLarens, and the two Red Bull drivers.

The drivers take turns leading the standings. The first to switch to soft tires is Pastor Maldonado after 25 minutes of testing. The Venezuelan immediately moves into fifth position with a time of 1:40.744. After the first half-hour, it is the two Red Bulls that are ahead of the rest of the pack, with Vettel ahead of Mark Webber, but Fernando Alonso is not far behind.

As the halfway point of the session approaches, two drivers have not completed a single lap. This is due to di Resta being affected by Nico Hülkenberg’s off-track excursion this morning and Jaime Alguersuari suffering engine problems on his Toro Rosso. Meanwhile, Alonso is trying to improve his time but is hindered by Karthikeyan’s HRT in the final sector.

Fifteen minutes before the end of the session, Paul di Resta gets into his single-seater. The Scottish driver completes seven laps at the end of the session and takes the fourteenth position.

At the end of this second practice session, it is Fernando Alonso who proves to be the fastest ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.

Results of Free Practice 2 – 2011 European Grand Prix: