Free 2: Mark Webber fastest after second practice at Suzuka

Mark Webber has ended the second practice session fastest at Suzuka, as preparations for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix continue. The Red Bull driver was followed home by Lewis Hamilton in 2nd, with the reigning World Champion of Sebastian Vettel in 3rd.

Just like first practice, the second practice session was run in glorious weather conditions at Suzuka. Once again, Jean-Eric Vergne was the first driver to take to the track, closely followed by the Sauber of Sergio Perez. The Williams of Bruno Senna and the Caterham of Heikki Kovalainen made their first track appearances of the weekend, after relinquishing their respective seats within their teams for their reserve drivers in first practice. The latter spun on the approach to turn 13 in the opening stages of the session, however was able to continue circulating on the track.

Jean-Eric Vergne set the initial pace for Toro Rosso with a 01:36.287, which was instantly bettered by Sergio Perez who set a 01:35.374. With many drivers immediately deciding to set timed laps in opening minutes of the session, quick times were in abundance as Romain Grosjean shot to the top with a 01:34.514 as Vergne made a slight mistake and ran wide at turns 1 and 2.

The session was momentarily red flagged after only seven minutes, as Paul di Resta lost control of his Force India through turn 14 and embedded his car into the wall. The VJM05 sustained moderate damage to the right-hand side of the car, and saw di Resta make his way disconsolately back to the pits.

Fernando Alonso was the first driver to take to the track as the session was resumed, as the Spaniard set the pace at top the top of the timing sheets with a 01:34.287. Whilst the World Championship leader asserted his authority over proceedings, Kovalainen once again made another mistake and ran wide at turn 1. Kimi Raikkonen’s session was greatly hindered as the session progressed, with the Finn being informed via the team radio that his KERS had suffered an issue on his car. After returning the pits, it was confirmed by Lotus that Raikkonen’s car had suffered a cooling issue with his KERS, thus enabling the KERS pack to overheat.

As local hero Kamui Kobayashi ran extensively wide at turn 7, Jenson Button stormed to the top with a 01:34.150. The Briton ended the opening session fastest overall, and looked eager to continue his competitiveness in the second session. Vitaly Petrov became the first driver to switch to the soft Pirelli tyre compound, as the Mercedes duo remained in the pits as extensive work was carried out on both cars. Nico Rosberg required an engine change after an oil pressure issue in first practice, whereas Michael Schumacher was undergoing a series of setup changes.

Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel then went fastest overall, setting a 01:34.080. The Red Bull driver proceeded to improve on his time at the top, before Jenson Button and then Romain Grosjean both momentarily shared the top spot. However, Sebastian Vettel wasted no time in returning to the top spot, with a 01:32.836 enabling the German to return to the top.

Sergio Perez ran wide at turn 14 as the session wore on, however the Mexican driver was able to continue circulating on the track. Whilst Perez pushed to the limits, Lewis Hamilton went fastest with a 01:32.707. This time was quickly beaten by the Red Bull of Mark Webber, as the times continued to tumble at the top.

Michael Schumacher’s session was brought to a premature conclusion, as the Mercedes driver made a mistake through turn 14 in an incident reminiscent of Paul di Resta earlier in the session. The German dipped his front-right wheel off the track, and spun into the barriers, enduring light damage to his car. The session was not red flagged, as the Japanese marshals cleared the stricken Mercedes. Felipe Massa ran extensively wide through turn 8, skipping through the gravel as the Brazilian driver pushed to the limits of the Suzuka circuit.

As the second practice session drew to a conclusion, it became apparent that no-one was going to thwart the Red Bull of Mark Webber. The Australian driver remained at the top of the timing sheets throughout the remainder of the session, and was followed home by the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton and team-mate Sebastian Vettel. Vitaly Petrov suffered a rare rear-wing failure as the checkered flag emerged, resulting in a major spin at turns 1 and 2 for the Russian driver.

The teams and drivers will now take their data acquired from the opening two sessions of the weekend, and will crunch the numbers long into the night as they continue to prepare for Sunday’s race. Only one more practice session remains tomorrow, before the all-important qualifying hour later in the day.

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