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<b>TIME TO CONCENTRATE:</b> Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton sits in his car during second practice session ahead of the 2014 Bahrain GP. He finished fastest from the session, followed by team mate Nico Rosberg. <i>Image: AFP/Patrick Baz</i>
AFP/Patrick Baz
MANAMA, BAhrain - Lewis Hamilton led Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg to a shimmering 1-2 in floodlit second practice for the 2014 Bahrain Formula 1 GP here on Friday.
The 2008 champion, winner in steamy Malaysia a week earlier ahead of championship leader Rosberg, picked up where he left off on the first day of action at the Sakhir desert circuit.
Hamilton was fastest in both sessions with a best time of 1min34.325 in cooler evening conditions after a 1min37.502 in the afternoon.
ALONSO THIRD-FASTEST
Sunday's race, the 10th tto be held in the restive Gulf kingdom since Bahrain hosted the Middle East's first F1 GP exactly 10 years earlier, has moved to a day-to-night format. With the cars gleaming in the glare of 5000 bulbs in the new floodlights, the sleek 'Silver Arrows' stood out as expected pace-setters.
Rosberg's fastest lap, in a session that saw track temperatures drop from 33 to a balmy 25 degrees after dark, was 0.365sec slower than his British team mate. The first 13 cars were covered by less than 1.7sec.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was third-fastest in both sessions, with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo fourth in the evening and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg filling that spot in the afternoon. Ricciardo again had problems with his car's fuel-flow sensor, the part that failed in both of the first two races of the season.
McLaren's Jenson Button, the 2009 champion who will start his 250th race on Sunday, was fifth and sixth in the respective sessions.
The time sheets reinforced Mercedes' early-season superiority with four cars powered by their power units in the top five after lunch.
Williams, which also has Mercedes engines, had Brazilian Felipe Massa fifth in the evening session despite sitting out the first half of the session because the team already had plenty of data from eight days of pre-season testing in Bahrain.
Red Bull's four-times F1 champion Sebastian Vettel was 10th and seventh.
RESERVE DRIVERS ON TRACK
Alonso provided some surprise when Ferrari accidentally sent him out with one soft tyre and three mediums on his car in the first session. The Spaniard stopped in the pits lane and was pushed back.
Three reserve drivers made debut appearances for the season in first practice, with Brazilian Felipe Nasr given track time at Williams, Dutchman Giedo van der Garde at Sauber and compatriot Robin Frijns at Caterham.
The sessions were untroubled by any protests elsewhere against the race, the country's biggest annual sporting event and a prestige project for the ruling monarchy. Bahrain, essentially a small island in the Persian Gulf, has suffered sporadic unrest since an uprising led by its Shi'ite Muslim community in early 2011 demanding reforms and a bigger share of power in the Sunni-led government.
Back then, anti-government demonstrators threw petrol bombs and clashed with police, who fired tear gas and birdshot, after a funeral procession on the Thursday night in a Shi'ite village south of the capital, Manama
2014 Bahrain Formula 1 GP second practice times
1 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1min34.325
2 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1min34.690
3 Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 1min35.360
4 Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull - Renault 1min35.433
5 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams-Mercedes 1min35.442
6 Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 1min35.528
7 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull - Renault 1min35.606
8 Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso - Renault 1min35.640
9 Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) McLaren 1min35.662
10 Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - Mercedes 1min35.802
11 Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams-Mercedes 1min35.920
12 Jean-Eric Vergne (France) Toro Rosso - Renault 1min35.972
13 Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) Force India - Mercedes 1min35.998
14 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1min36.366
15 Adrian Sutil (Germany) Sauber - Ferrari 1min36.962
16 Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico) Sauber - Ferrari 1min36.975
17 Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Lotus - Renault 1min37.259
18 Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus - Renault 1min37.599
19 Jules Bianchi (France) Marussia - Ferrari 1min37.800
20 Max Chilton (Britain) Marussia - Ferrari 1min38.247
21 Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Caterham - Renault 1min38.257
22 Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Caterham - Renault 1min39.136
The 2008 champion, winner in steamy Malaysia a week earlier ahead of championship leader Rosberg, picked up where he left off on the first day of action at the Sakhir desert circuit.
Hamilton was fastest in both sessions with a best time of 1min34.325 in cooler evening conditions after a 1min37.502 in the afternoon.
ALONSO THIRD-FASTEST
Sunday's race, the 10th tto be held in the restive Gulf kingdom since Bahrain hosted the Middle East's first F1 GP exactly 10 years earlier, has moved to a day-to-night format. With the cars gleaming in the glare of 5000 bulbs in the new floodlights, the sleek 'Silver Arrows' stood out as expected pace-setters.
Rosberg's fastest lap, in a session that saw track temperatures drop from 33 to a balmy 25 degrees after dark, was 0.365sec slower than his British team mate. The first 13 cars were covered by less than 1.7sec.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was third-fastest in both sessions, with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo fourth in the evening and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg filling that spot in the afternoon. Ricciardo again had problems with his car's fuel-flow sensor, the part that failed in both of the first two races of the season.
McLaren's Jenson Button, the 2009 champion who will start his 250th race on Sunday, was fifth and sixth in the respective sessions.
The time sheets reinforced Mercedes' early-season superiority with four cars powered by their power units in the top five after lunch.
Williams, which also has Mercedes engines, had Brazilian Felipe Massa fifth in the evening session despite sitting out the first half of the session because the team already had plenty of data from eight days of pre-season testing in Bahrain.
Red Bull's four-times F1 champion Sebastian Vettel was 10th and seventh.
RESERVE DRIVERS ON TRACK
Alonso provided some surprise when Ferrari accidentally sent him out with one soft tyre and three mediums on his car in the first session. The Spaniard stopped in the pits lane and was pushed back.
Three reserve drivers made debut appearances for the season in first practice, with Brazilian Felipe Nasr given track time at Williams, Dutchman Giedo van der Garde at Sauber and compatriot Robin Frijns at Caterham.
The sessions were untroubled by any protests elsewhere against the race, the country's biggest annual sporting event and a prestige project for the ruling monarchy. Bahrain, essentially a small island in the Persian Gulf, has suffered sporadic unrest since an uprising led by its Shi'ite Muslim community in early 2011 demanding reforms and a bigger share of power in the Sunni-led government.
Back then, anti-government demonstrators threw petrol bombs and clashed with police, who fired tear gas and birdshot, after a funeral procession on the Thursday night in a Shi'ite village south of the capital, Manama
2014 Bahrain Formula 1 GP second practice times
1 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1min34.325
2 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1min34.690
3 Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 1min35.360
4 Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull - Renault 1min35.433
5 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams-Mercedes 1min35.442
6 Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 1min35.528
7 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull - Renault 1min35.606
8 Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso - Renault 1min35.640
9 Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) McLaren 1min35.662
10 Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - Mercedes 1min35.802
11 Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams-Mercedes 1min35.920
12 Jean-Eric Vergne (France) Toro Rosso - Renault 1min35.972
13 Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) Force India - Mercedes 1min35.998
14 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1min36.366
15 Adrian Sutil (Germany) Sauber - Ferrari 1min36.962
16 Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico) Sauber - Ferrari 1min36.975
17 Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Lotus - Renault 1min37.259
18 Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus - Renault 1min37.599
19 Jules Bianchi (France) Marussia - Ferrari 1min37.800
20 Max Chilton (Britain) Marussia - Ferrari 1min38.247
21 Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Caterham - Renault 1min38.257
22 Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Caterham - Renault 1min39.136
