Raikkonen claims FP2 top spot in Bahrain

Finn fastest on medium tyres ahead of Red Bull Racing duo Webber and Vettel.

Kimi Raikkonen took over at the top of the timesheets ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, the Lotus driver logging a lap of 1:34.154 in the weekend’s second free practice session.

Using the medium Pirelli tyre compound, the Finn rose to the top of the timesheet as the session neared the hour mark. With most of the field opting for long runs on the hard compound in the final half hour the Lotus driver’s time remained the benchmark.

Mark Webber claimed the afternoon’s second quickest time with a lap of 1:34.184, just three hundredths of a second slower than the Lotus diver. Red Bull Racing team-mate Sebastian Vettel was third, just under a tenth of a second further back.

Fourth place went to the morning’s second-quickest man Fernando Alonso, the Ferrari driver finishing his afternoon’s work just 0.156 adrift of Raikkonen. Force India’s Paul Di Resta continued to look competitive with a repeat of his fifth-place finish from the morning. After finishing in P1 in the morning session Ferrari’s Felipe Massa ended the day with the sixth-fastest time, a lap of 1:34.552.

Nico Rosberg was eighth fastest, the German being separated from 10^th-fastest Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton by Force India’s Adrian Sutil.

The only drama in the session came when Caterham’s Charles Pic and Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez were involved in a minor collision, with the Mexican needing to return to the pits with a puncture.

2013 Bahrain Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 Times

1 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus 1:34.154
2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1:34.184
3 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:34.282
4 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:34.310
5 Paul di Resta Force India 1:34.543
6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:34.552
7 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:34.631
8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:34.666
9 Adrian Sutil Force India 1:34.932
10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:34.976
11 Jenson Button McLaren 1:35.356
12 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:35.506
13 Sergio Perez McLaren 1:35.589
14 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:35.761
15 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 1:36.133
16 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:36.279
17 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:36.579
18 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:36.616
19 Charles Pic Caterham 1:37.061
20 Max Chilton Marussia 1:37.313
21 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:37.363
22 Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1:37.970