Bahrain – Free Practice 2: Räikkönen in the Heat

Max Chilton is the first driver to take to the track in the early minutes of the second free practice session of this fourth Grand Prix of the 2013 Formula 1 season. Pastor Maldonado follows him in the FW35 equipped with the new rear wing tested by Bottas this morning. The first time of the afternoon is logically credited to Chilton, who completes the circuit in 1:42.419. This time is beaten by Van der Garde with a time of 1:39.231, while the major contenders are also out. It’s Button who leads the session after 5 minutes, clocking in at 1:36.166 for McLaren, who is quickly outpaced by Pérez in the other MP4-28 with a time of 1:35.866.

At Red Bull, Sebastian Vettel explores the sidelines of the Shakir circuit at the wheel of his RB9. 15th fastest time for the triple world champion while Webber takes the best time.

It is very hot in Bahrain, and many teams are making some adjustments to optimize the cooling of the cars. This is the case with Williams at the rear of the FW35, and it also seems to be the case at McLaren, where work is being done on Sergio Pérez’s car.

Many drivers are complaining about the behavior of their cars at the start of the session. Felipe Massa mentions tire wear despite Pirelli bringing the hardest compounds in its range, while Giedo van der Garde complains about a lack of grip coming out of corners. Nico Rosberg is also not satisfied, citing significant understeer on his F1W04.

A third of the way through this second session of the day, it is Mark Webber who holds the best time (1:34.184). The Australian leads his teammate and Fernando Alonso. At the back, Bianchi is outpaced by Max Chilton, while Giedo van der Garde is just a tenth behind Charles Pic despite not having driven this morning. Charles Pic is touched by Esteban Gutierrez’s Sauber a few minutes later. The C32 hits the front wing of the Caterham. As a result, a puncture occurs on the front left for the Mexican driver, causing him to lose a set of medium tires.

After 45 minutes, no change in the top three. Behind, Massa is in 4th and Romain Grosjean, who has a new chassis for this Grand Prix, sets the 5th fastest time. Kimi Räikkönen is 15th at this point in the session, but the Finn sets off for a fast lap equipped with medium tires. One lap later, the E21 number 7 goes straight to the top of the timesheet with a 1:34.154. The Lotus seems to perform better with the medium tires than with Pirelli’s hard range. Further down the order, Bianchi—who didn’t run this morning—closes in on Max Chilton. On the other hand, the gap between Pic and van der Garde increases to the advantage of the Dutchman.

With only 30 minutes remaining in this session, Pic positions himself ahead of his teammate and in front of the two Marussias. Upfront, nothing new under the sun. The drivers are running tests in preparation for the race, and lap times are no longer improving. The track is busy with only three cars stationary in the pit lane, those of Bianchi, Pic, and Webber.

At the end of the session, Kimi Räikkönen is asked to stay on the track as long as possible to see how far the Lotus can go with the tires. Tires about which Nico Hülkenberg complained to his pit wall.

Under the checkered flag, it is Räikkönen who holds the best time at 1:34.154, ahead of the two Red Bulls of Webber and Vettel. Fernando Alonso is 4th.

Note that Räikkönen’s time is three tenths faster than the time set by Massa this morning. It is therefore the best time of the day.

Practice 2 Results of the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix: