Sakhir, FP2: Raikkonen on top for Lotus in second practice

Kimi Raikkonen took over at the top of the timesheets ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, the Lotus driver logging a lap of 1:34.154 in the weekend’s second free practice session.

Using the medium Pirelli tyre compound, the Finn rose to the top of the timesheet as the session neared the hour mark. With most of the field opting for long runs on the hard compound in the final half hour the Lotus driver’s time remained the benchmark.

Mark Webber claimed the afternoon’s second quickest time with a lap of 1:34.184, just three hundredths of a second slower than the Lotus diver. Red Bull Racing team-mate Sebastian Vettel was third, just under a tenth of a second further back.

Fourth place went to the morning’s second-quickest man Fernando Alonso, the Ferrari driver finishing his afternoon’s work just 0.156 adrift of Raikkonen. Force India’s Paul Di Resta continued to look competitive with a repeat of his fifth-place finish from the morning. After finishing in P1 in the morning session Ferrari’s Felipe Massa ended the day with the sixth-fastest time, a lap of 1:34.552.

Nico Rosberg was eighth fastest, the German being separated from 10th-fastest Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton by Force India’s Adrian Sutil.

The only drama in the session came when Caterham’s Charles Pic and Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez were involved in a minor collision, with the Mexican needing to return to the pits with a puncture.