Nico Rosberg was fastest in the second practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix, but team-mate Lewis Hamilton’s running was cut short by a reliability concern.
After Red Bull topped the opening session it was Rosberg who was fastest on the ultrasoft tyre in FP2, leading Raikkonen by 0.275s. Three teams were covered by less than 0.4s, with Max Verstappen third and team-mate Daniel Ricciardo just 0.405s adrift in fourth. Unlike the opening session, the times were comparable as all set their fastest laps on the ultrasoft tyre.
- AS IT HAPPENED: Singapore Grand Prix – FP2
It was far from a smooth session for the Red Bulls, with Verstappen – who has an upgraded Renault power unit this weekend – complaining he wasn’t getting a worthwhile long run due to traffic, while Ricciardo was lucky to escape a spin early in the session. The Australian clipped the wall at Turn 11 with his left rear tyre and spun but stopped short of the barrier on the inside of the track.
Championship leader Hamilton was not so lucky as he completed just ten laps and was seventh quickest when he returned to the pits to have an hydraulic alert investigated by Mercedes. The team discovered the problem could not be resolved in time to get the car back on track during the remainder of the session.
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Sebastian Vettel and Nico Hulkenberg separated Hamilton from the top four, with Vettel a second off the pace as he was unable to match Raikkonen’s time on the ultrasoft tyres. It was not a representative lap from the four-time world champion, as he ended the session just 0.021s clear of the Force India.
The two Toro Rossos remained in the top ten, with Carlos Sainz eighth ahead of Fernando Alonso and Daniil Kvyat. In a role reversal of the opening session it was Sainz of the two Toro Rossos who made an error, following Alonso in running wide at Turn 10 and hitting the Tecpro barrier with his right rear wheel. Fortunately, both drivers escaped damage.
Alonso’s session ended with a walk back to the pits, however, as his McLaren came to a halt at Turn 16 with a gearbox problem on his final lap.
In a session which featured a number of mistakes, Romain Grosjean suffered the most damage as he spun at the final corner. Grosjean had already complained of problems with his brakes when he lost the rear of his Haas as he came through to complete a lap, spinning backwards into the wall and damaging his rear wing. The Frenchman needed a new rear wing and floor after the incident, which Haas could not fit in time for him to return to the track after 12 laps.
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Pos Driver Team Time Laps01
Nico Rosberg
Mercedes
1:44.152
34
02
Kimi Raikkonen
Ferrari
1:44.427
34
03
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
1:44.532
29
04
Daniel Ricciardo
Red Bull
1:44.557
26
05
Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari
1:45.161
33
06
Nico Hulkenberg
Force India
1:45.182
35
07
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
1:45.275
10
08
Carlos Sainz
Toro Rosso
1:45.507
33
09
Fernando Alonso
McLaren
1:45.779
30
10
Daniil Kvyat
Toro Rosso
1:46.029
35
11
Sergio Perez
Force India
1:46.063
26
12
Jenson Button
McLaren
1:46.574
30
13
Esteban Gutierrez
Haas
1:46.727
36
14
Felipe Massa
Williams
1:46.856
30
15
Valtteri Bottas
Williams
1:46.960
30
16
Kevin Magnussen
Renault
1:47.161
30
17
Jolyon Palmer
Renault
1:47.166
34
18
Felipe Nasr
Sauber
1:47.531
29
19
Romain Grosjean
Haas
1:48.391
12
20
Marcus Ericsson
Sauber
1:48.487
32
21
Pascal Wehrlein
Manor
1:48.505
33
22
Esteban Ocon
Manor
1:48.823
29