Alonso quickest in dry second session

31 comments on “Alonso quickest in dry second session”

1. 

   Fixy (@)
   23rd July 2010, 14:37

   Good Fernando, seems good for Sunday’s race.
2. 

   Electrolite
   23rd July 2010, 14:40

   This is more like it, I think we can read into this.

   Petrov getting closer to Kubica again it seems, really hope he gets a points finish this weekend. If Massa can convert this performance into qualifying it’ll give him the confidence boost he needs.

   Anyone else surprised at Mclaren? I thought the long straights and tight sections would suit them.
   1. 

      F1silverarrows
      23rd July 2010, 15:08

      Well by looking at Lewis’ timed runs it was working out well until the final sector, losing him nerly 8 tenths of a second.

      Even Jenson isn’t looking so hot at the moment… I guess we have to see if McLaren can improve and get closer to the Ferrari’s since they look to be the top car after this practice session.
      1. 

         bosyber
         23rd July 2010, 15:32

         But it is also true that Button set his fastest time much earlier and then switched to a 15 lap run. Also, the longer runs from Red Bull, and indeed Alonso also lost them quite a few tenths in that final sector compared to Alonso’s earlier fast lap on soft tires, so I will await the interactive lap chart of Keith before concluding they are off the pace.

         Nevertheless, it is good that Ferrari, and Alonso especially, are clearly on the pace of the Red Bull today.
   2. 

      DaveW
      23rd July 2010, 15:59

      Well, the new car needs to be set up differently. And I’m sure it was not easy to do that in one dry session with only 75% of the laps they normally have to do this. They never got a good set up in Britain, at least to Button’s liking, even though Hamilton showed some good pace with the new floor. So the question now is whether that was down to the Abbey bumps and the MP4-25s required rock-hard set up, or if the new car is just going to be diabolical to drive.

      Re Ferrari being on top, I don’t read much into this. Is Mark Webber really .3s off Vettel and .2s ahead of Rosberg? Obviously RBR did not show their hand either.
      1. 

         Electrolite
         23rd July 2010, 17:10

         You say about the rock-hard setup. They do often set the MP4-25 like a ‘skateboard’, as Martin Brundle describes it.
3. 

   TommyC
   23rd July 2010, 14:40

   i was pretty impressed by hamilton coming out in the final 10 minutes and going more than half a second quicker than button. maybe they just sent him out to impress given they probably couln’t get any meaningful data from 10 mins running
   1. 

      Christian
      23rd July 2010, 14:55

      I would not read anything into that. Completely different test plans today, and at higher pace settings at completely different times of a wet to dry session. Those two probably had the biggest difference of afternoon set up of all the team-mates.
      1. 

         TommyC
         23rd July 2010, 14:56

         that what i was thinking. perhaps we’ll be able to make a fairer assessment tomorrow
         1. 

            Christian
            23rd July 2010, 14:57

            Definitely. Tomorrow should be very interesting.
      2. 

         Nick F
         23rd July 2010, 15:39

         Also he had done less laps on his tyres.
4. 

   BasCB
   23rd July 2010, 14:48

   Alonso and Massa look good here. I still expect Red Bull to clinch the pole position though.

   Lewis will be in the hunt as well. Button did most setup basics to get the car working today so tomorrow will only be to fine tune the setup for qualifying and the race.

   No idea about the race for now, i’m going to wait until the weather is more clear before putting in my prediction.
   1. 

      US_Peter
      23rd July 2010, 20:22

      Unless Ferrari can sort out an engine setting similar to Red Bull for Q3…
5. 

   Maciek
   23rd July 2010, 14:55

   Sure would be nice if Ferrari’s efforts finally panned out. I think that for all of us non-Ferrari fans last year just felt like poetic justice after the Schumacher-Ferrari years. Now I find myself cheering for both of them as the underdogs. Who woulda thunk it. Another fun ingredient in an already interesting season.
   1. 

      US_Peter
      23rd July 2010, 20:23

      As well as Mercedes. Who’d have thought that last year’s most dominant constructor would be so far off the mark this year?
6. 

   James
   23rd July 2010, 15:04

   I’m so gutted I’ll be missing qualifying and the race live this weekend (although I am seeing the Prodigy at Milton Keynes Bowl, so all balances out ;) ). I reckon Alonso is great contention to get his first pole position of the season and in Ferrari colours.

   But then again, Red Bull may just turn on a couple of switches tomorrow and demolish the entire field with another convincing margin in qualifying. They cant be matched for their qualifying pace at the moment
7. 

   mw
   23rd July 2010, 15:14

   First time in a while we’ve seen Massa near the top. Makes me think Ferrari are genuinely competetive – Agree, Alonso for pole.
   1. 

      US_Peter
      23rd July 2010, 20:24

      I was thinking the same thing… if Massa’s right up there too, then it can’t just be a fluke that Alonso’s so fast.
8. 

   DaveW
   23rd July 2010, 15:24

   As far as pole position, RBR’s retarded-timing-afterburners will take care of any challengers. It has to be Vettel for the pole. McLaren definitely hasn’t shown their hand. But it looks like rain tomorrow, which could mean anyone for pole. No one else pick Adrian Sutil, please.
   1. 

      Maciek
      23rd July 2010, 15:34

      “retarded-timing-afterburners”

      Really sounds like something out of “Spaceballs”, no?
   2. 

      Nick F
      23rd July 2010, 15:47

      :-)

      It’s a shame they are not allowed to add some fuel to the exhaust gas and ignite it. That would work well on TV. Especially in night races.

      Burning away part of the front wing of the following car could become a whole new skill.
      1. 

         US_Peter
         23rd July 2010, 20:25

         Improving the show! :-)
9. 

   Flippy PK
   23rd July 2010, 15:31

   I am really impressed with Massa’s performance. It looks like he may have a great qualifying session like he did in Monaco.
10. 

    Todfod
    23rd July 2010, 15:33

    I think tomorrows quali is Alonso’s best chance to take pole. A good confirmation of Ferrari’s pace is Massa making it to the top 3. If Massa can get god lap times, we know Alonso can go anywhere between 0.4 to 0.7s quicker than his teammate. So i’m betting on a close fight between Alonso and Vettel tomorrow.
11. 

    sumedh
    23rd July 2010, 16:05

    Ferrari has done well on ‘green’ tracks this year. Bahrain, Monaco. Hockenheim also had no rubber laid on it before this session thanks to the rain. Come Saturday, I think Vettel will still show all the way, unless it rains.

    Tough to make predictions this time though :(
    1. 

       Matt G (lotus fan)
       23rd July 2010, 17:09

       They didn’t do very well in Canada where there was less rubber. The rain in quali will mean predicting the race outcome will be very dificult.
12. 

    BasCB (@bascb)
    23rd July 2010, 16:05

    It seems Mercedes did some work on their car again, and it might start to be going in the right direction.

    These are great pictures of car details.
    The airbox opening is gettin more refined
    http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-photos/5576/2010-german-formula-1-grand-prix-friday/158933/#158933

    First time i saw this interpretation of the passive stalling rear wing:
    http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-photos/5576/2010-german-formula-1-grand-prix-friday/158933/#158933
13. 

    BasCB (@bascb)
    23rd July 2010, 16:06

    And thanks to Lewis we were offered some detail of McLarens back end.

    What’s the silver part hanging inside the left wheel? Seems to be an earodynamic brake duct/airflow thing.
    http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-photos/5576/2010-german-formula-1-grand-prix-friday/158933/#158933
    and here the same part is seen in its right position. http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-photos/5576/2010-german-formula-1-grand-prix-friday/158933/#158933
14. 

    Younger Hamilton
    23rd July 2010, 17:13

    Its my Birthday tomorrow,I’ll love to see Lewis on pole i’ll be like a birthday present to me.But the Redbulls and Ferraris look very quick but McLaren is just again learning about the EBD(Exhaust Blown Diffuser).Im Sure McLaren will be in there in third practice and Qualifying.
15. 

    BBT
    23rd July 2010, 17:28

    I think its between the RBRs for pole, and Alonso and Hamilton for 3rd.
16. 

    wasiF1 (@wasif1)
    24th July 2010, 3:11

    Button P15 is that race set-up run & is that how fast he can go in this condition.Ferrari are back but will they transform this on Saturday to stay ahead of the Mclaren?

    It seems, like Silverstone on true pace it seems like the challenge will come from the Ferrari for the Red Bull but on race pace is what it really matters. Mercedes are back there but I hope that doesn’t prove that they have a good car.

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