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Australian GP 2010: Free Practice 2 / Q&A with Seb
Lewis Hamilton i njegov momčadski kolega Jenson Button su maksimalno iskoristili kratki suhi period drugog slobodnog treninga voženog danas u Albert Parku, pa McLaren u ukupnom poretku čvrsto drži vodeću poziciju u odnosu na druge momčadi.
Lagana kiša koja je počela padati pet minuta prije početka sesije se do prvih instalacijskih krugova pretvorila u pravu kišu koja je nakon toga slabjela, što je vozačima otvorilo prozor od 15-ak minuta sa suhom stazom.
Prvi u konkurentnom modu je bio Mercedesov vozač Nico Rosberg, no prvo mjesto mu ubrzo uzimaju McLarenovi vozači, najprije Button, a onda i Hamilton.
Button je svoj najbrži krug odvozio samo nekoliko sekundi nakon što je Rosberg prošao startno-ciljnom ravnonom, nakon čega je vrijeme još jdnom poboljšao. No, Hamilton je s 1:25.8 ultimativno bio još brži.
Kiša nakon toga ponovno počinje jačati, a bolidi koji su se našli na stazi se vraćaju u boks. Jaime Alguersuari je bio jedini vozač koji je ostao na stazi, no i on se predao nakon što je izletio na posljednjem zavoju.
10 minuta prije kraja sesije uvjeti na stazi su ponovno postali dovoljno dobri za konkurentne krugove, a Mark Webber i Michael Schumacher su u posljednjim pokušajima skočili na treće odnosno četvrto mjesto.
Vrijeme je u posljednjem pokušaju popravljao i Sebastian Vettel, ali je se izvrtio u 6. zavoju, nakon što mu se prilikom kočenja jedan od kotača našao na travi. Vettel je drugi slobodni trening završio na 16. poziciji.
Krug prve desetorice zatvaraju Petrov, Buemi, Sutil, Liuzzi, Barrichello i Rosberg.
Ferrarijevi vozači su preskočili suhi period tijekom kojeg nisu izlazili na stazu, što objašnjava Massino tek 15. i Alonsovo 17. mjesto.
Nove momčadi su imale još jednu tešku sesiju. Timo Glock je nekako uspio odvoziti 9 krugova zbog problema s mjenjačem iz kojeg istječu lubrikanti, dok se njegov momčadski kolega Lucas di Grassi na stazi nije pojavio nakon nekoliko instalacijskih krugova koje je odvozio.
Situacija u HRT-u je bila još gora; Karun Chandhok je odustao nakon svega nekoliko stotina metara odvoženih u instalacijskom krugu zbog, pretpostavlja se, kvara na mjenjaču. Bruno Senna je izgubio cijeli drugi trening zbog problema s pritiskom goriva.
Zato je situacija u Lotusu bila nešto bolja, a Kovalainen i Trulli su kompletirali ukupno 32 kruga. Trulli je imao 20. najbrže vrijeme, dok je Kovalainen nešto bolje pozicioniran, na 18. mjestu.
Rezultati 2. slobodng treninga:
01. L. Hamilton 1:25:801
02. J. Button +0:00:275
03. M. Webber +0:00:447
04. M. Schumacher +0:00:710
05. V. Petrov +:00:931
06. S. Buemi +0:01:031
07. A. Sutil +0:01:033
08. V. Liuzzi +0:01:034
09. R. Barrichello +0:01:103
10. N. Rosberg +0:01:155
11. R. Kubica +0:01:307
12. P. de la Rosa +0:01:307
13. K. Kobayashi +0:01:654
14. N. Hulkenberg +0:01:744
15. F. Alonso +0:03:224
16. S. Vettel +0:03:333
17. F. Massa +0:03:790
18. H. Kovalainen +0:04:059
19. J. Alguersuari +0:04:709
20. J. Trulli +0:04:894
21. T. Glock +0:06:316
22. L. di Grassi - no time
23. K. Chandhok - no time
24. B. Senna - no time
SV: “I had a drift off track at the end of the second session; obviously it wasn’t ideal, but it happens - that’s what practice is for. It was my mistake; I was a bit too far to the left when hitting the brakes. It meant I missed the most important time on the track at the end of P2, but the car feels good and Mark showed that we are right there. It looks very close between the top cars.”
Q&A with Sebastian Vettel:
Q: Sebastian, how would you sum up your Bahrain weekend?
Sebastian Vettel: Well, I would say that Friday and Saturday were almost perfect. In hindsight, I think we were happy to keep P4 on the Sunday, with the problems that we had. Of course it would have been so much better to win the race, but to leave Bahrain with the knowledge that we had done everything correctly - aside from the spark plug lapse - it felt very, very good!
Q: You must have analysed the problem - what did you discover?
SV: Ah, it was quite easy. You take out the faulty plug and put a new one in. That’s it. As for what caused the plug failure, we are still working on it. From my experience what happened was a very rare incident, so it should not haunt us again.
Q: How does the Melbourne track suit the RB6?
SV: Last year our car worked well on any kind of circuit, and the RB6 is in exactly the same mould. On tracks that weren’t so well suited to the RB5, we were still able to finish among the top five, and there is no indication why it shouldn’t be the same here.
Q: How do you like this track?
SV: I definitely like it. It’s one of my favourites on the calendar. It’s a street circuit, which means that on day one it’s always very slippery. But that improves over the weekend and on Sunday there have always been excellent conditions. I also like the city. It’s a very laidback place and the fans here are fantastic. The only downside is that it’s a long journey to get here.
Q: What driver qualities does the track demand?
SV: Patience! As I said it is very slippery, so you have to be careful and not start panicking. You just have to wait. The other important thing is to find your rhythm. As it is a street circuit it is quite bumpy and you have to find a rhythm with which you can ‘ride’ these bumps best.
Q: In Practice Two you had a look at Melbourne from a 360 degree perspective…
SV: It wasn’t completely 360 degrees! I was able to interrupt it shortly before that. It’s true it was far from ideal today - the word chaotic springs to my mind - but everything is still working, even though we are not where we would like to be. Overnight we have to see what we can come up with.
Q: How useful is a rainy practice session anyway?
SV: It’s kind of strange when everybody is sitting in the pits waiting for the track to dry. And because nobody is out on track it takes even longer to dry up.
Q: Judging from Mark Webber’s time, the RB6 seems pretty competitive here…
SV: Yes, but I hope it doesn’t start to smoke again. But seriously, yes it feels quite good.
Q: Do you always want to beat you team mate?
SV: For sure, as your team mate is your first challenger. And for sure Mark will try anything to beat me on Sunday. But I have always expressed that we have a very good relationship - on and off track. But it is the nature of racing that you always want to finish first. Otherwise we all wouldn’t be here. Nobody, who has the right materials at his disposal, starts the race thinking they want to finish fifth or sixth. P1 is what you’re focusing on!
Q: You were a hot contender to win on Sunday. Is it still realistic?
SV: Friday’s times are never the ultimate indication, particularly here, where the track is very different and the conditions have been quite unusual. My guess is that Saturday’s times will be quite different from those of today. Ask me tomorrow after qualifying. But even that is not the final say, as we saw in Bahrain. To finish first, you first have to finish! That is an eternal truth in our sport.
Q: How did you enjoy playing with the boomerang a few days ago…
SV: It was pretty funny. Although it is not as easy as it looks. You have to be careful when you throw it, as you have to take the wind into account. I managed to make it come back two times, but the rest of the time it landed everywhere else but near me.
Source: f1racing.com.hr / formula1.com / f1-hr.com
Post je objavljen 26.03.2010. u 22:11 sati.