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The second Friday practice
session for the 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix would continue to be run under dry
but hot conditions as for the Williams Martini team Felipe Massa would take
to the track first, running on the hard tyre. The first time of the session
would be a 1m:44.005 as Felipe set a slow 1m:56.873. Team-mate
Valtteri Bottas was now out on the track also on the hard tyre for his first
run. Button was now fastest with a 1m:42.445 but he was passed by Hulkenberg
with a 1m:42.293. Button would improve his benchmark with a 1m:41.635 but
Valtteri would set a 1m:41.072 to be quickest. Felipe would join Valtteri at
the top of the times going second with a 1m:41.075. For the Williams team their focus would
be tyre work in this afternoon session.
Raikkonen was now third followed by Rosberg, Button, Alonso, Hulkenberg and
Gutierrez in eighth. All the times so far had been set on the hard tyre with
fifteen minutes of the session completed. Ricciardo would move up to be
third with a 1m:41.079. Vergne was down in ninth with just over an hour
remaining. Most of the field would pit returning on the medium tyre for their next runs. Perez
would improve to be eleventh with a 1m:41.671 running on the option tyre.
Felipe would be first out on the medium tyre followed by eighth placed
Rosberg. Valtteri would follow Felipe shortly after as more drivers started
their medium tyre work.
Hamilton on the mediums would set a time of
1m:40.051 but Rosberg was next to improve with a 1m:39.909 to be quickest.
Felipe was now third with a 1m:40.112, having been fastest at one time, and
Alonso fourth followed by Magnussen. Vettel was now sixth followed by
Valtteri and Ricciardo. Both Mercedes cars would pit as Valtteri set a
1m:40.638 to be fourth. But the team would admit that Valtteri had made a
mistake on this lap so their was more to come.
Raikkonen was able to move into second with a 1m:39.944 and Alonso fourth,
1m:40.103. Felipe had pitted and was in fifth and Valtteri sixth. Vettel and
Ricciardo were ninth and tenth, but Vettel would improve to be sixth with a
time of 1m:40.161. Valtteri had also now pitted with forty five minutes
remaining. Vettel would again improve with a 1m:39.970 to be third. This would see Felipe drop to
sixth and Valtteri was now ninth with Ricciardo and Button seventh and
eighth. The track was now quite empty but Rosberg would come back out again
on new set of medium tyres. He would be joined by Hamilton also on new
medium tyres. Button was also out on the track as Rosberg pitted after just a very short run.
For Williams
Valtteri was back out as Hamilton pitted if only briefly. With just under
forty minutes remaining Felipe would return to the track running on used
medium tyres. More drivers would return completing longer runs on the medium
tyre. As the session counted down several drivers would return to their pits
to take on the hard tyre for their next runs, including both Mercedes cars,
Ricciardo and Button. With ten minutes remaining both Williams cars
continued on their medium tyre runs.
The lap times had dropped off considerable as drivers set times raging from
the 1m:44s through to 1m:48s. Felipe would pit returning on the hard tyre
with eight minutes remaining. Raikkonen was also on the hard tyre with five
minutes remaining. Valtteri had completed fifteen laps on his medium tyre
with what looked like the Williams team running different tyre test split
between their two drivers. Right near the end of the session Rosberg would
pit taking on the medium tyre. The session would come to an end with Rosberg
fastest from Raikkonen, Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso, Felipe, Ricciardo, Button,
Valtteri, and Hulkenberg tenth.
The Williams drivers would again complete
practice pit stops as they returned to their pits in a session that again
saw both drivers in the top ten. Felipe was just 0.2s behind the quickest
time but Valtteri was a bigger margin behind been 0.7s behind Rosberg.
Valtteri would complete thirty five laps while Felipe had completed thirty
four, in another sign of good reliability from the FW36.
For Felipe Massa to have
finished sixth today was not a surprise. Felipe would say: "Surprised? No. I
am sure they have a competitive car and they are going to be there fighting.
We saw also a good lap from Vettel, so he can be there fighting and I hope
we can be there in a good direction to fight with them. I hope we can fight
for the top five [in qualifying]." |