As the drivers opted for the fastest of the Pirelli tyres available here, the
supersoft, during the second session, Vettel was a quarter of a second clear
of team-mate Mark Webber. Mercedes looked as if they could at least mount a
concerted challenge to Red Bull, with Hamilton and Nico Rosberg third and
seventh quickest, but the closing stages of their day were chaotic.
First Rosberg pulled off the track with a gearbox problem with four seconds
left, then Hamilton ended with the indignity of veering off into the wall.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff explained: “Lewis had a slight problem
with the differential, which caused understeer and he went off.”
Second practice times:
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 1min 25.908secs
2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:26.172
3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes-Mercedes 1:26.322
4 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Lotus-Renault 1:26.361
5 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Lotus-Renault 1:26.680
6 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari-Ferrari 1:26.748
7 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes-Mercedes 1:26.772
8 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari-Ferrari 1:26.855
9 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Mercedes 1:27.435
10 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Sauber-Ferrari 1:28.187
11 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 1:28.294
12 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India-Mercedes 1:28.311
13 Sergio Perez (Mex) McLaren-Mercedes 1:28.566
14 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:28.627
15 Esteban Gutierrez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 1:28.772
16 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams-Renault 1:28.852
17 Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:28.968
18 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams-Renault 1:29.386
19 Jules Bianchi (Fra) Marussia-Cosworth 1:29.696
20 Charles Pic (Fra) Caterham-Renault 1:30.165
21 Max Chilton (Gbr) Marussia-Cosworth 1:30.600
22 Giedo van der Garde (Ned) Caterham-Renault 1:32.450