Tyres ripped apart easily at the Spanish GP, and then blew up at Silverstone,
leading to the threat of a boycott from drivers before the German GP. That
prompted Pirelli to revert to the 2012 construction twinned with their 2013
compounds in Budapest.
The modified tyres held firm at the Hungarian GP last month, but Spa is a
tougher track because its long, steep corners create more pressure.
Pirelli’s motorsport director, Paul Hembery, thinks the tyres were not to
blame this time.
“Both Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso had a puncture on their
right-rear tyre around turn 14,” late in the afternoon session, Hembery
said. “From initial analysis it appears that both were caused by an
outside factor, probably debris on the track.”
Alonso was fastest in the morning’s rainy first practice and seventh in the
afternoon.
As the sun came out and dried the track, the Red Bulls set the early pace,
while Alonso was held up by traffic.
“We had a pretty good run today but there’s still some performance to
find and we need to get the car a bit better balanced,” Webber said. “It
was good to have stable conditions this afternoon.”
Moments after Vettel’s puncture, Dutch driver Giedo van der Garde lost control
coming out of a turn and slid across the track into the crash barriers. He
climbed out unharmed but there was damage to the right of his Caterham.
Hamilton also had a difficult afternoon, finishing 12th. He asked mechanics
over race radio: “Is my dashboard telling me the right time? Because
the car’s all over the place.”
Earlier on, Van der Garde and Caterham team-mate Charles Pic got in each
other’s way at the Bus Stop chicane and went off track. When Pic returned,
he drove into the path of Vettel, who broke hard to avoid contact.
In the overcast morning, Alonso gave struggling Ferrari a boost.
The two-time former champion is without a win in five races and has
disappointed in qualifying all season, failing to even place on the front
row. But the Spaniard clocked a best lap of 1:55.198. Vettel was sixth
quickest.
They set their best times when the track was at its driest, and many drivers
stayed in their garages as the rain started to fall again late in the
session. Hamilton, who won the last race in Hungary, was 15th.
Conditions are often wet in Spa – the longest circuit on the calendar at 7.004
kilometres (4.352 miles).
Because of its size, different microclimates mean it can be raining on one
part of the track and sunny at another. Corners such as the steeply rising
Eau Rouge and Blanchimont push drivers and tyres to the absolute limit.
In the morning, it was dry at the bottom of the circuit but damp near the
finish line.
Second practice session:
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1 min 49.331 secs, 2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red
Bull 1:49.390, 3 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Lotus 1:50.149, 4 Felipe Massa (Bra)
Ferrari 1:50.164, 5 Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Toro Rosso 1:50.253, 6 Kimi
Raikkonen (Fin) Lotus 1:50.318, 7 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:50.510, 8
Sergio Perez (Mex) McLaren 1:50.536, 9 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 1:50.601,
10 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India 1:50.611, 11 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force
India 1:50.629, 12 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes 1:50.751, 13 Nico
Hulkenberg (Ger) Sauber 1:50.972, 14 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams
1:50.991, 15 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:51.195, 16 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus)
Toro Rosso 1:51.447, 17 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams 1:51.568, 18 Esteban
Gutiérrez (Mex) Sauber 1:51.644, 19 Giedo van der Garde (Ned) Caterham
1:53.157, 20 Charles Pic (Fra) Caterham 1:53.251, 21 Jules Bianchi (Fra)
Marussia 1:53.482, 22 Max Chilton (Gbr) Marussia 1:54.418