Belgian GP: Free Practice 2 - Re-Cap & Results

It was an eventful session for some teams, while others breezed through, setting their lap times and giving the team good data for the rest of the weekend.

For Nico Rosberg, things were just not going his way. During FP1, he'd reported a loss of power and missed most of the session. This time around, one of his rear tyres exploded and he slid across the track quite fast before coming to a halt, managing to avoid the barriers. To add to the stress of a race weekend, his wife is due any day with their first child. Sebastian Vettel is expecting baby number 2 in September!

Marcus Ericsson had a crash later in the session, ending up in the barriers. He walked away with no injuries, but the same couldn't be said for the Sauber itself.

Daniil Kvyat and Romain Grosjean were both handed reprimands after the session. Kvyat's for Red Bull's unsafe release in the pits. A scene which almost ended with Kvyat hitting Nasr as he cruised through the pit-lane. The team was also fined 10,000 Euros. Grosjean's was for slowing at turn 18 with Hulkenberg approaching quickly from behind. 

Ferrari was fined 400 Euros for Raikkonen speeding in the pit-lane during the session. But, as for grid penalties... McLaren was given a 55-Grid-Drop between both cars due to use of 7th & 8th components/power elements. While it's impossible for either driver to drop back more than there is grid spaces, they will serve the majority of the penalties differently. During the race, both Alonso & Button face up to 10 seconds being added to their final race time &/or drive through penalties.

Max Verstappen looks to also be receiving a grid penalty for an engine change.

Here are the times from the session:

TIMES:

1. Nico Rosberg - 1:49.385 / Mercedes-Mercedes

2. Lewis Hamilton - 1:49.687 / Mercedes-Mercedes

3. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:50.136 / Red Bull-Renault

4. Daniil Kvyat - 1:50.399 / Red Bull-Renault

5. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:50.461 / Ferrari-Ferrari

6. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:50.461 / Force India-Mercedes

7. Romain Grosjean - 1:50.489 / Lotus-Mercedes

8. Marcus Ericsson - 1:50.709 / Sauber-Ferrari

9. Felipe Nasr - 1:50.928 / Sauber-Ferrari

10. Sebastian Vettel - 1:50.940 / Ferrari-Ferrari

11. Sergio Perez - 1:50.971 / Force India-Mercedes

12. Carlos Sainz - 1:51.037 / Toro Rosso-Renault 

13. Max Verstappen - 1:51.117 / Toro Rosso-Renault 

14. Valtteri Bottas - 1:51.250 / Williams-Mercedes

15. Pastor Maldonado - 1:51.317 / Lotus-Mercedes

16. Felipe Massa - 1:51.588 / Williams-Mercedes

17. Jenson Button - 1:51.854 / McLaren-Honda

18. Fernando Alonso - 1:52.570 / McLaren-Honda

19. Will Stevens - 1:54.065 / Manor-Ferrari

20. Roberto Merhi - 1:54.253 / Manor-Ferrari

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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Austrian GP: Free Practice 2 - Re-Cap & Results

We're around an hour and a half away from FP3, so lets go ahead and get straight to the re-cap of FP2.

When it rains, it pours. Okay, so maybe that's not true for every situation. But rain was starting to come down when the GP2 drivers were on track, but it cleared up for the first half of FP2. But, by the end, the rain was coming down again.

Lots of drivers were locking up again and running wide. Mostly at Turn 1 and 8. No major accidents during this session, so everyone was able to set some good times. Let's move on to that now.

TIMES:

1. Lewis Hamilton - 1:09.542 / Mercedes

2. Nico Rosberg - 1:09.919 / Mercedes

3. Fernando Alonso - 1:10.470 / Ferrari

4. Valtteri Bottas - 1:10.519 / Williams

5. Felipe Massa - 1:10.521 / Williams

6. Sebastian Vettel - 1:10.807 / Red Bull

7. Jenson Button - 1:10.813 / McLaren

8. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:10.920 / Red Bull

9. Kevin Magnussen - 1:10.936 / McLaren

10. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:10.972 / Toro Rosso

11. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:10.974 / Ferrari

12. Daniil Kvyat - 1:11.261 / Toro Rosso

13. Sergio Perez - 1:11.296 / Force India

14. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:11.491 / Sauber

15. Pastor Maldonado - 1:11.765 / Lotus

16. Adrian Sutil - 1:11.806 / Sauber

17. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:11.935 / Force India

18. Max Chilton - 1:12.229 / Marussia

19. Romain Grosjean - 1:12.262 / Lotus

20. Jules Bianchi - 1:12.279 / Marussia

21. Kamui Kobayashi - 1:12.937 / Caterham

22. Marcus Ericsson - 1:13.596 / Caterham

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Make sure to join us on Twitter @F1Insider78 for LIVE commentary coverage of Free Practice 3 in 1 Hour and 30 minutes!

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.

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Canadian GP: Free Practice 2 - Re-Cap & Results

Alright, now it's time for a quick re-cap of FP2. Like I mentioned, we were unable to do coverage of this session and we're sincerely sorry. We hope to make up for it with this article and we will attempt to bring you commentary for FP3!

So, in this session, Rossi handed Kamui's car back, making it all 22 regular drivers for this session. The temperature had risen since FP1 and there was no sign of rain.

Kamui Kobayashi was having some problems with this session, where he spun at one point and then later on lost a piece from under his back wing. It practically just fell off, onto the circuit. Quite unfortunate, but the team is sure to have his car ready for FP3. His team-mate, Marcus Ericsson, stopped on track in the session.

Pastor Maldonado had issues as well, as he was unable to make it past Pit-Lane, before the team called him back and pushed the car back into the garage. Later they replaced his rear wing. 

There was only a minor inccident that involved Adrian Sutil and Kevin Magnussen. While Magnussen had the track pretty much to himself, he was rounding the chicane at a slower-than-usual speed, and Adrian Sutil came from behind and had to run off the kerb to avoid smashing into the back of the McLaren. 

So, now on to the times.

RESULTS:

1. Lewis Hamilton - 1:16.118 / Mercedes

2. Nico Rosberg - 1:16.293 / Mercedes

3. Sebastian Vettel - 1:16.573 / Red Bull

4. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:16.648 / Ferrari

5. Fernando Alonso - 1:16.701 / Ferrari

6. Felipe Massa - 1:16.774 / Williams

7. Valtteri Bottas - 1:16.893 / Williams

8. Kevin Magnussen - 1:17.052 / McLaren

9. Jenson Button - 1:17.059 / McLaren

10. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:17.180 / Toro Rosso

11. Romain Grosjean - 1:17.626 / Lotus

12. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:17.644 / Red Bull

13. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:17.712 / Force India

14. Sergio Perez - 1:17.819 / Force India

15. Pastor Maldonado - 1:17.868 / Lotus 

16. Adrian Sutil - 1:17.964 / Sauber

17. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:18.340 / Sauber

18. Max Chilton - 1:18.693 / Marussia

19. Daniil Kvyat - 1:18.732 / Toro Rosso

20. Kamui Kobayashi - 1:20.244 / Caterham

21. Marcus Ericsson - 1:22.418 / Caterham

22. Jules Bianchi - 1:32.127 / Caterham

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.

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Monaco GP: Free Practice 2 - Re-Cap & Results

Time for the re-cap of Free Practice 2! It got quite rainy while GP2 was out doing their practice session on the circuit and it began to hail shortly after. So, for F1, the first 40-ish minutes of practice were spent watching the drivers hang around in their garages while talking to their engineers and/or other team members.

Once the track was dry and cars started heading out, the first one to face a major problem was Kimi Raikkonen, who suddenly got stuck in Gear 3 and had to head to the pits. Turned out he had a Gearbox problem and his session was then over.

His team-mate, Fernando Alonso, ended up setting the fastest time of the Second Session, while Hamilton came in a close Second, with Vettel rounding it up in 3rd. Force India and McLaren also looked strong in the session.

At the end, Marcus Ericsson in the Caterham, had a bit of a spin and ended up with the nose of the car just barely tapping the wall. Although there was no major damage, his session was over.

Now, on to the times!

TIMES:

1. Fernando Alonso - 1:18.482 / Ferrari

2. Lewis Hamilton - 1:18.901 / Mercedes

3. Sebastian Vettel - 1:19.017 / Red Bull

4. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:19.351 / Toro Rosso

5. Valtteri Bottas - 1:19.421 / Williams

6. Sergio Perez - 1:19.668 / Force India

7. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:19.712 / Force India

8. Jenson Button - 1:19.721 / McLaren

9. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:19.779 / Red Bull

10. Kevin Magnussen - 1:20.230 / McLaren

11. Felipe Massa - 1:20.394 / Williams

12. Daniil Kvyat - 1:20.622 / Toro Rosso

13. Adrian Sutil - 1:20.811 / Sauber

14. Pastor Maldonado - 1:20.977 / Lotus

15. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:21.467 / Sauber

16. Romain Grosjean - 1:21.700 / Lotus

17. Kamui Kobayashi - 1:21.924 / Caterham

18. Jules Bianchi - 1:21.937 / Marussia

19. Max Chilton - 1:22.683 / Marussia

20. Nico Rosberg - 1:22.862 / Mercedes

21. Marcus Ericsson - 1:23.164 / Caterham

22. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:45.509 / Ferrari

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.

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Spanish GP: Free Practice 2 - Re-Cap & Results

Time for a quick re-cap of Free Practice 2 and then the times!

Vettel had to sit out of this session after a huge wire issue caused him to only be able to complete 4 laps during Free Practice 1. Meanwhile, Esteban Gutierrez and Valtteri Bottas returned to their cars after sitting out of FP1. 

Hamilton lead this session as well, and at the end, Jean-Eric Vergne's tyre came loose and flew off, bouncing along the track. He's been handed a 10-Place-Grid-Penalty for Qualifying because of this and the team has also been fined for the incident.

McLaren continued to keep their cars in the top 10 times and things look good for them for FP3 and Qualifying. Sauber also improving after the team shaved weight off the cars over the week. Adrian Sutil admitted earlier this weekend that he didn't eat for 2 days to lose weight, admitting he is heavier than team-mate, Gutierrez.

Now, on to the times!

TIMES: 

1. Lewis Hamilton - 1:25.524 / Mercedes

2. Nico Rosberg - 1:25.973 / Mercedes

3. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:26.509 / Redbull

4. Fernando Alonso - 1:27.121 / Ferrari

5. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:27.296 / Ferrari

6. Kevin Magnussen - 1:27.788 / McLaren

7. Jenson Button - 1:27.811 / McLaren

8. Felipe Massa - 1:27.824 / Williams 

9. Pastor Maldonado - 1:27.866 / Lotus

10. Daniil Kvyat - 1:28.049 / Toro Rosso

11. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:28.074 / Force India

12. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:28.246 / Toro Rosso

13. Adrian Sutil - 1:28.284 / Sauber

14. Valtteri Bottas - 1:28.698 / Williams

15. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:29.105 / Sauber

16. Sergio Perez - 1:29.129 / Force India

17. Romain Grosjean - 1:29.493 / Lotus

18. Jules Bianchi - 1:29.991 / Marussia

19. Max Chilton - 1:31.148 / Marussia

20. Kamui Kobayashi - 1:31.338 / Caterham 

21. Marcus Ericsson - 1:31.586 / Caterham

22. Sebastian Vettel - No Time Set - Redbull 

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.

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Chinese GP: Free Practice 2 - Re-Cap & Results

Alright, time for a quick Re-Cap of Free Practice #2! First of all, thanks to all who joined me on Twitter tonight for my commentary coverage & Thanks for your questions. I'll be back again tomorrow for coverage of Free Practice 3!

Also wanted to note that Bottas and Sutil were in this session after Nasr and Van Der Garde did Free Practice #1!

So, let's start with Maldonado, who crashed the Lotus into the wall as he was heading for the pits. He radioed in, saying, "I crashed - Sorry" - Everyone knows the first step is admitting you did something wrong. (Bad joke!)

Mercedes were keeping good pace with Lewis Hamilton setting the fastest time of the session, although Alonso was close in Second, after he'd put in fastest time for Session #1. Redbull is also improving with both cars in the top 5 times. Force India was doing some long-runs, so no need to read too much into their times as they were focusing on balance and performance. We know they're fast!

An issue that's being noticed is that with the colder weather, the drivers are having an issue getting (and keeping) the tyres warm. Makes you wonder what'll happen next year when the Tyre Warmer ban is put in place. Yikes. So, with that said, we're seeing a lot of spinning and running off of the track, due to lack of grip. Another issue this weekend seems to be the brakes locking up. Not sure if this is weather related or not, but looking into it!

Now, on to the times!

TIMES:

1. Lewis Hamilton - 1:38.315 / Mercedes
2. Fernando Alonso - 1:38.456 / Ferrari
3. Nico Rosberg - 1:38.726 / Mercedes
4. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:38.811 / Redbull
5. Sebastian Vettel - 1:39.015 / Redbull
6. Felipe Massa - 1:39.118 / Williams
7. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:39.283 / Ferrari
8. Jenson Button - 1:39.491 / McLaren
9. Romain Grosjean - 1:39.537 / Lotus
10. Daniil Kvyat - 1:39.648 / Toro Ross
11. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:39.736 / Force India
12: Kevin Magnussen - 1:39.744 / McLaren
13. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:39.759 / Toro Rosso
14. Valtteri Bottas - 1:39.830 / Williams
15. Sergio Perez - 1:40.124 / Force India
16. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:40.359 / Sauber
17. Adrian Sutil - 1:40.395 / Sauber
18. Pastor Maldonado - 1:40.455 / Lotus
19. Jules Bianchi - 1:42.327 / Marussia
20. Max Chilton - 1:43.473 / Marussia
21. Kamui Kobayashi - 1:43.530 / Caterham
22. Marcus Ericsson - 1:43.679 / Caterham

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Bahrain GP: Free Practice 2 - Re-Cap & Results

    Free Practice 2 sure did bring some drama this time around. Nico Rosberg was given a Reprimand after the session when he pulled a dangerous move infront of Sergio Perez, who was planning for a smooth pass by him, since Rosberg seemed to be coasting, but at Sergio approached, Nico quickly swerved into his path. 

          We also had some drivers gaining air while launching off of the Kerb at Turn 4. Many drivers have expressed their concerns about the kerb at that corner and apparently there are some plans to change it to make it a bit safer.

    Marussia, Lotus & Sauber all had some issues, with Chilton spinning out, Sutil losing power in the car and Maldonado having damage to the floor of the chassis after the kerb-launch caused the car to come back down on to the surface of the circuit, very heavily and abruptly.

      Lets go ahead and get to those times.

1. Lewis Hamilton - 1:34.325 / Mercedes
2. Nico Rosberg - 1:34.690 / Mercedes
3. Fernando Alonso - 1:35.360 / Ferrari
4. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:35.433 / Redbull
5. Felipe Massa - 1:35.442 / Williams
6. Jenson Button - 1:35.528 / McLaren
7. Sebastian Vettel - 1:35.606 / Redbull
8. Daniil Kvyat - 1:35.640 / Toro Rosso
9. Kevin Magnussen - 1:35.662 / McLaren
10. Sergio Perez - 1:35.802 / Force India
11. Valtteri Bottas - 1:35.920 / Williams
12. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:35.972 / Toro Rosso
13. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:35.998 / Force India
14. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:36.366 / Ferrari
15. Adrian Sutil - 1:36.962 / Sauber
16. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:36.975 / Sauber
17. Pastor Maldonado - 1:37.259 / Lotus
18. Romain Grosjean - 1:37.599 / Lotus
19. Jules Bianchi - 1:37.800 / Marussia
20. Max Chilton - 1:38.247 / Marussia
21. Kamui Kobayashi - 1:38.257 / Caterham
22. Marcus Ericsson - 1:39.136 / Caterham


Free Practice #3 is going on right now and I'm doing Live-Commentary-Coverage on my twitter @F1Insider78 - Come join for all the action and fun, and don't forget to say "Hi.".

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Malaysian GP: Free Practice 2 - Re-Cap & Results

As session 2 of Free Practice just finished up about a half hour ago, I am back with a quick Re-Cap and the Time Results of the session. Unfortunately both Kamui Kobayashi and Pastor Maldonado were unable to get out there and do any laps. Sergio Perez, however, was able to get out on the track in this Session and get in some good laps. 

Also impressive was Redbull's Sebastian Vettel, who finished in the top 3. We saw a few people spin and head into the gravel including Max Chilton and Daniel Ricciardo. Here are the times.

TIMES:

1. Nico Rosberg - 1:39.909 / Mercedes
2. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:39.944 / Ferrari
3. Sebastian Vettel - 1:39.970 / Redbull
4. Lewis Hamilton - 1:40.051 / Mercedes
5. Fernando Alonso - 1:40.103 / Ferrari
6. Felipe Massa - 1:40.112 / Williams
7. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:40.276 / Redbull
8. Jenson Button - 1:40.628 / McLaren
9. Valtteri Bottas - 1:40.638 / Williams
10. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:40.691 / Force India
11. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:40.777 / Toro Rosso
12. Kevin Magnussen - 1:41.014 / McLaren
13. Adrian Sutil - 1:41.257 / Sauber
14. Daniil Kvyat - 1:41.325 / Toro Rosso
15. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:41.507 / Sauber
16. Sergio Perez - 1:41.671 / Force India
17. Romain Grosjean - 1:42.531 / Lotus
18. Max Chilton - 1:43.638 / Marussia
19. Jules Bianchi - 1:43.752 / Marussia
20. Marcus Ericsson - 1:45.703 / Caterham
21. Kamui Kobayashi - No Time Set / Caterham
22. Pastor Maldonado - No Time Set / Lotus

I'll be doing live commentary for Free Practice 3 tomorrow on Twitter, so make sure to stop by and join in on the fun!

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Australian GP: Free Practice 2 - Results

The Free Practice 2 Session which just finished up awhile ago, has many people talking now. There was a lot of near-inccidents with some of the cars having trouble at turn 11 including Vettel, Vergne, Hulkenberg and Perez. Hulkenberg was the only one of those four people to actually stop and have to be towed away, but over-all, it could still act as a more-dangerous spot on the circuit for Qualifying and Race day. Once again, Caterham was unable to send out their cars due to Hydraulics issues.

Here are the times from the Second Free Practice Session

TIMES:

1. Lewis Hamilton - 1:29.623 / Mercedes
2. Nico Rosberg - 1:29.782 / Mercedes
3. Fernando Alonso - 1:30.132 / Ferrari
4. Sebastian Vettel - 1:30.381 / Redbull
5. Jenson Button - 1:30.510 / McLaren
6. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:30.538 / Redbull
7. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:30.898 / Ferrari 
8. Valtteri Bottas - 1:30.920 / Williams
9. Kevin Magnussen - 1:31.031 / McLaren
10. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:31.054 / Force India
11. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:31.060 / Toro Rosso
12. Felipe Massa - 1:31.119 / Williams
13. Sergio Perez - 1:31.283 / Force India
14. Adrian Sutil - 1:32.355 / Sauber
15. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:32.468 / Sauber
16. Daniil Kvyat - 1:32.495 / Toro Rosso
17. Jules Bianchi - 1:33.486 / Marussia
18. Romain Grosjean - 1:33.646 / Lotus
19. Max Chilton - 1:34.757 / Marussia
20. Marcus Ericsson - No Time Set / Caterham
21. Kamui Kobayashi - No Time Set / Caterham
22. Pastor Maldonado - No Time Set / Lotus

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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