Fernando Alonso (ESP) Ferrari F14 T. Formula One World Championship, Rd8, Austrian Grand Prix, Practice, Spielberg, Austria, Friday, 20 June 2014
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton, 1m 11.435s, P2/1m 09.542s, P1
Nico Rosberg, 1m 11.295s, P1/1m 09.919s, P2
Once again Mercedes were clearly the fastest, as Hamilton and Rosberg battled it out. The Englishman said he was really happy with the way his day went and had been impressive getting his best time out of the supersofts immediately. Rosberg took longer to achieve a time 0.377s slower, and said his car was bouncing badly on the straights and in the braking areas.
Ferrari
Fernando Alonso, 1m 11.606s, P3/1m 10.470s, P3
Kimi Raikkonen, 1m 12.365s, P11/1m 10.974s, P11
Ferrari split the development work as Raikkonen focused on the front of the car and Alonso the rear, and they tried new aero components. After Canada, where Alonso was also quick on Friday, it’s difficult to say whether Ferrari will be in the same position tomorrow as it was in FP2.
Williams
Valtteri Bottas, 1m 12.114s, P8/1m 10.519s, P4
Felipe Massa, 1m 11.756s, P4/1m 10.521s, P5
Once again Williams looked very good. Massa in particular was very pleased with his FW36’s balance, and expects to be in the thick of the fight behind Mercedes on Sunday.
Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel, 1m 12.988s, P15/1m 10.807s, P6
Daniel Ricciardo, 1m 12.570s, P13/1m 10.920s, P8
Both drivers admitted that they struggled with the RB10 in FP1, particularly with generating heat in the tyres, but said they were happier once changes had been made for FP2. Vettel, however, admitted freely that they are not the favourites for their home race.
McLaren
Jenson Button, 1m 11.839s, P5/1m 10.813s, P7
Kevin Magnussen, 1m 12.313s, P9/1m 10.936s, P9
McLaren had a positive day, experimenting with the aero upgrade in FP1 when there was a degree of progress, and then focusing on the normal race preparation work in FP2. Both drivers said their cars felt reasonably good, but complained about aspects of the layout of Turn 8.
Toro Rosso
Jean-Eric Vergne, 1m 12.364s, P10/1m 10.972s, P10
Daniil Kvyat, 1m 12.372s, P12/1m 11.261s, P12
Vergne was very happy with progress, which like McLaren embraced a lot of assessment of new parts in FP1. He is convinced Q3 is a possibility again tomorrow. Kvyat liked the track, but said he felt there was room for big personal improvement.
Force India
Sergio Perez, 1m 12.009s, P6/1m 11.296s, P13
Nico Hulkenberg, 1m 12.072s, P7/1m 11.935s, P17
Both drivers were happy with the VJM07 in FP1, but less so in the afternoon when the performance edge seemed to go away. They have much midnight oil to burn here tonight.
Sauber
Esteban Gutierrez, 1m 12.984s, P14/1m 11.491s, P14
Adrian Sutil, 1m 14.691s, P21/1m 11.806s, P16
Sutil had a character-building morning thanks to a fractured hose which cost him a lot of track time. Gutierrez had a better time, but both said there is work to be done on the C33’s driveability here.
Lotus
Pastor Maldonado, 1m 13.642s, P17/1m 11.765s, P15
Romain Grosjean, 1m 13.168s, P16/1m 12.262s, P19
Maldonado made good progress in FP2 as the team started to unlock the E22’s potential, but then lost time with a power unit problem. Grosjean was very unhappy with his car’s handling
Marussia
Max Chilton, 1m 13.857s, P19/1m 12.229s, P18
Jules Bianchi, 1m 13.738s, P18/1m 12.279s, P20
Their post-Canadian spat resolved, Chilton and Bianchi were evenly matched all day and ended up separated by only five-hundredths of a second as Marussia continued to look more and more respectable. Bianchi lost time in FP1 with a radio problem, but otherwise it was a reliable and productive day.
Caterham
Kamui Kobayashi, 1m 14.611s, P20/1m 12.937s, P21
Marcus Ericsson, 1m 17.501s, P22/1m 13.596s, P22
Caterham had a tough day as Ericsson’s car ground to a halt early in FP1 when it switched itself off. The Swede lost the rest of the session as an electrical problem with the MGU-H was solved. Kobayashi was much happier in FP2 after changes to his CT05 improved its braking and traction.