Austrian GP, ​​Free Practice 2: afternoon at Hamilton

Mercedes again, but this time Lewis Hamilton was the fastest in the second Free Practice session of the 2014 Austrian GP, ​​with the best time of 1:09.542. The British driver prevailed ahead of his teammate and his Ferrari Alonso, fast on this Friday afternoon. The rain spared the drivers for the hour and a half of testing, so the teams concentrated on race simulations while waiting for the weekend to get underway. Mercedes with a pace as always out of reach of their opponents, but Ferrari proved to be in form, with Alonso slightly more constant than his teammate. Williams and Red Bull are also very close, with Ricciardo more on the ball than Vettel in terms of race pace.

News – We start again with the second Free Practice session on the Austrian circuit Red Bull Ring. Green light and Ericsson is the first on the track. The sun is still struggling to make its way through the green mountains surrounding Spielberg but rain seems to have been averted for the afternoon. The first minutes of the session saw Button and his McLaren ahead of everyone, alternating with Raikkonen's Ferrari. But with Alonso entering the track 15 minutes after the start, it was the Spaniard's red car that established itself ahead of everyone, followed by Rosberg, Button, Magnussen, Raikkonen, Massa, Kvyat, Vergne, Perez and Hamilton. However, it doesn't take long for the two Mercedes to take the top of the standings, with Rosberg and Hamilton battling it out as always, with Alonso's Ferrari immediately behind. The two Red Bull they start subdued, but after the first twenty minutes Ricciardo appears in the top five. This is the ranking after the first half hour of the session: Hamilton, Rosberg, Bottas, Alonso, Massa, Ricciardo, Vettel, Magnussen, Button and Kvyat. In the meantime, Bianchi is the first rider to take to the track with the Super Soft.

Nico Rosberg stole first place from his teammate for a few seconds, but Hamilton regained the top spot by lapping in 1:09.652. With red tires Fernando Alonso closes behind the two Mercedes. Also Sponge improves by moving behind the Ferrari driver. Meanwhile he improves Hamilton in first position, with Rosberg behind him trying to keep up with his teammate. While Alonso remains in third place, Raikkonen closes the top ten. The two Red Bull they are both in the top ten, in sixth and eighth position.
With just over half an hour to go, Lewis Hamilton he starts with the race simulation and shortly afterwards Rosberg also follows him. Thirty minutes from the end, the Briton is ahead of everyone followed by his teammate, Alonso, Bottas, Massa, Vettel, Button, Ricciardo, Magnussen and Vergne.

In the last half hour almost all the drivers are engaged in the race simulation. Even though rain seemed to be averted until the end, strong gusts of wind didn't help the riders on the track, who struggled to maintain a consistent pace. Hamilton is always the fastest in simulation, Rosberg proves to be regular, while the times of the other drivers are more fluctuating but close. Ferrari confirms a good race pace for both drivers, while the Red Bull di Ricciardo she's not far from the redhead. McLaren's isn't bad either Button. The second Free Practice session ends with Hamilton taking his place at the top of the afternoon standings, ahead of Rosberg, Alonso, Bottas, Massa, Vettel, Button, Ricciardo, Magnussen and Vergne.

F1 GP Austria 2014 – Times and results Free Practice 2

Nina Stefanelli