Free 2: Nico Rosberg tops second practice in Bahrain

Nico Rosberg has finished practice two fastest in Bahrain, continuing on from his success in China where he won his maiden Grand Prix victory. The Red Bull’s showed competitive pace with Webber and Vettel finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively. The McLaren’s struggled on the softer tyre, as the track temperatures dipped.

The session got underway with Narain Karthikeyan taking to the track almost immediately for HRT, completing not only an installation lap but also the first timed lap with a 01:41.710. Pastor Maldonado then blitzed the Indian’s time with a 01:36.518 going just over five seconds quicker than the HRT.

The big news of the second session was that of Force India deciding to skip FP2, with the mechanics leisurely transferring their cars from Friday practice to qualifying and race pace as the session began. As the session got underway, Force India confirmed they would not partake in the second session.

Jenson Button was out early on in the session for McLaren, with the 2009 World Champion making a minimal mistake on his first timed lap. Kamui Kobayashi then went quickest with a 01:36.198 before the Brit finally got a quick lap together and set a 01:34.500, becoming the first of the front runners to clock a time in FP2.

The times then began to tumble as the majority of the field began setting quick times, with some drivers’ even opting for the softer Pirelli tyre compound early on. Mark Webber went fastest, before the Mercedes’ of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher returned to the top.

Sebastian Vettel became the first of the front runners to switch to the soft (yellow) Pirelli tyre, immediately going quickest with a 01:33.525, only around a tenth fastest than his time on the harder tyres. Nico Rosberg then shot to the top of the timing sheets, with a commanding lap time of a 01:32.816. This showed the opposition that the Silver Arrows will most certainly be a force to be reckoned with this weekend.

The McLaren’s also opted for the softer Pirelli tyres, but were unable to break into the top 3. Lewis Hamilton ended the day just under a second off Rosberg’s time, with his team-mate Jenson Button just over a second slower than the German driver. McLaren will be hoping they can get closer to the opposition tomorrow.

With Force India stipulating they are committed to racing in Bahrain, tomorrow should see a full 24 car grid take to the track for practice three and qualifying.

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