Did you know that it can be raining on one part of the Red Bull Ring and not another? And you thought Spa was the only lace that happened…shame on you.
Friday’s final practice session was led by Mercedes Nico Rosberg with teammate Lewis Hamilton hot on his heels just one hundredth of a second off his pace. The affair was dented with a strong rain shower that started on turns 8 and 9 and then eventually covered the track leaving teams in a waiting game for the circuit to dry.
Some interesting notes about the race weekend so far is that the circuit itself could see the return of the famed Osterreichring loop which, in my opinion, would be a welcome sight—much like bringing the forest section of Hockenheim back too!
Also, as we headed into the weekend, there were rumblings about the tire pressures mandated from Pirelli and the Italian tire maker made some adjustments ahead of practice and it is intended to crack down on teams heating the brakes—which transfers to the wheel and tire assembly—and will check the tires this weekend before being fitted to the car (which would have the heated brakes. This means they are trying to negate the impact of super-heated brake assemblies on the cars and the impact it would have on tire pressures.
On a final note, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel takes a hit this weekend with a gearbox change and 5-place grid penalty which will make a podium finish more difficult let alone a win.
FP2 Results
| Pos | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1m07.967s | – | 25 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1m07.986s | 0.019s | 19 |
| 3 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India/Mercedes | 1m08.580s | 0.613s | 28 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1m08.589s | 0.622s | 25 |
| 5 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/Renault | 1m08.649s | 0.682s | 30 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso/Ferrari | 1m08.713s | 0.746s | 32 |
| 7 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Renault | 1m08.761s | 0.794s | 20 |
| 8 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1m08.820s | 0.853s | 23 |
| 9 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams/Mercedes | 1m08.941s | 0.974s | 24 |
| 10 | Jenson Button | McLaren/Honda | 1m08.994s | 1.027s | 30 |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren/Honda | 1m09.075s | 1.108s | 26 |
| 12 | Felipe Massa | Williams/Mercedes | 1m09.184s | 1.217s | 17 |
| 13 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso/Ferrari | 1m09.207s | 1.240s | 26 |
| 14 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 1m09.226s | 1.259s | 32 |
| 15 | Kevin Magnussen | Renault | 1m09.525s | 1.558s | 19 |
| 16 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1m10.020s | 2.053s | 23 |
| 17 | Pascal Wehrlein | Manor/Mercedes | 1m10.034s | 2.067s | 20 |
| 18 | Esteban Gutierrez | Haas/Ferrari | 1m10.138s | 2.171s | 16 |
| 19 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m10.140s | 2.173s | 19 |
| 20 | Romain Grosjean | Haas/Ferrari | 1m10.400s | 2.433s | 31 |
| 21 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m10.444s | 2.477s | 22 |
| 22 | Rio Haryanto | Manor/Mercedes | 1m11.328s | 3.361s | 25 |
“only lace”? SB “onry lace”
The rain may vary, but the level of caffeine and sugar are consistent across the whole circuit. Pretty variable conditions in FP2, and fresh asphalt, there’s still a bit of shaking out to do to see who will make up rows 2 to 11, but it looks like Mercedes have still got a lock on the front row. The times are really tight through most of the field, 3rd down to about 15th, with a mix of power units and chassis, even the equal best ice and ecu and third best chassis is only enough for 10th and 11th. And… Read more »
I support any move to bring back individuality to the circuits. As well as being recognisable to fans it would also bring different challenges to teams and drivers. Who knows, we may even get different winners at different types of circuit, rather than whichever team has worked out the best way around a Tilkedrome.