Button tops rain-affected FP2

Jenson Button’s early marker in the second free practice session in Monaco was good enough to top the timesheets as intermittent rain disrupted the bulk of the session.

  

Button’s time of 1:15.746 was set inside the first 15 minutes of the session, before the first rain, as all the teams attempted to get in whatever dry weather running was possible as the skies darkened about he Principality. Second-placed Romain Grosjean, who finished just under four tenths of a second behind the McLaren man, also set his time in the opening quarter hour.

 

The twin Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso were next in the order with Pastor Maldonado, again looking competitive in his Williams FW34, rounding out the top five. However, despite the rain that fell in bursts, no driver erred badly enough to end up in the barriers.

 

The escape roads did, however, see action, particularly at Mirabeau where a number of drivers, including both Williams pilots, Felipe Massa and Sergio Pérez all having to take evasive action as they lost control on the run down from Casino Square. Caterham’s Heikki Kovalainen was caught out worst. The Finn guided his car down the escape road after losing control at Mirabeau, but then found himself unable to engage reverse gear and had to abandon his car and the rest of the session.