Mercedes were back on top in second practice in Bahrain with Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton quickest from Ferrari.
But there was drama as Sergio Perez and Sebastian Vettel made contact at Turn One in the closing minutes, bringing out the red flag and leaving the Ferrari with a broken front wing.
The session began with a setting sun and floodlights illuminating the circuit but temperatures not too much cooler than the afternoon session. Many drivers were heard complaining about the brightness of their steering wheel displays early in the session.
Mercedes immediately upped their pace from the first session, with Lewis Hamilton setting the early benchmark with a 1’36.795 on the Medium tyres – quicker than Ferrari managed in first practice.
After Jenson Button lost an entire session’s running in FP1 when his McLaren seized up at Turn One, there was more frustration for Button in the second session when he stopped at Turn 11 after completing only three laps.
Ferrari were the first team to try the Soft compound tyres, with Kimi Raikkonen improving by around two seconds on his Medium. Sebastian Vettel was set to beat his team mate’s time, but ran wide at the final corner, costing him half a second.
Then it was the turn of the Mercedes to try out the Soft compound for the first time. Hamilton went quickest with a 1’34.762, but was immediately beaten by Rosberg who improved by a tenth on his team mate.
With everyone having completed a run on the Soft tyres, teams turned their focus to longer runs. Hamilton ran on the Medium tyres, while Rosberg ran a stint on the Soft tyres.
After stopping early, McLaren were able to get Button’s McLaren back out on the circuit for some brief runs.
With just over ten minutes to go, the session was red flagged when Sergio Perez made contact with the front wing of Vettel’s Ferrari, leaving debris on the track at Turn One.
Vettel had claimed over radio that he had suffered a brake failure and was hit by the Force India at the apex of the turn as Perez abandoned a move to pass Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber ahead. The incident is under investigation by the stewards.
When the session restarted, Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton were seen driving around a queue of cars waiting at pit exit by taking to the restricted area of the inside of the pitlane. Both drivers are also being investigated.
No one was able to improve their times at the front of the field during the final minutes and Mercedes finish the first day’s running around half a second quicker than the Ferrari’s on ultimate one-lap pace.
Pos. | No. | Driver | Best lap | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | 1’34.647 | 31 |
2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | 1’34.762 | 33 |
3 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | 1’35.174 | 30 |
4 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | 1’35.277 | 26 |
5 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | 1’35.280 | 36 |
6 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | 1’35.449 | 27 |
7 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | 1’35.474 | 34 |
8 | 12 | Felipe Nasr | 1’35.793 | 27 |
9 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | 1’35.883 | 23 |
10 | 19 | Felipe Massa | 1’35.884 | 35 |
11 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | 1’36.148 | 34 |
12 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | 1’36.191 | 22 |
13 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | 1’36.334 | 31 |
14 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | 1’36.471 | 32 |
15 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | 1’36.805 | 30 |
16 | 33 | Max Verstappen | 1’36.917 | 26 |
17 | 11 | Sergio Perez | 1’37.062 | 33 |
18 | 28 | Will Stevens | 1’39.131 | 21 |
19 | 22 | Jenson Button | 1’39.209 | 15 |
20 | 98 | Roberto Merhi | 1’40.592 | 26 |
2015 Bahrain Grand Prix
- Sponsor watch: 2015 Chinese & Bahrain Grands Prix
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- Ferrari’s Mercedes challenge enlivens 2015 contest
- 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix team radio transcript
- Top ten pictures from the 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix
Lenny
17th April 2015, 17:52
Ok so just watched the BBC broadcast of second practice and in the recap at the end with Lee McKenzie i noticed Eddie Jordan looked seriously high and/or drunk hahaha! Saying stuff like “the practice kept us on the sits of our toes” and being captain obvious even more than usual…Also laughed awkwardly whilst interviewing T. Wolff lol really made me chuckle…With that said P2 was very much what we expected: Mercs in front and Ferrari three-quarters of a step back.
Hope Rosberg enjoys it whilst it lasts because from tomorrow he’ll be staring at Ham’s rearend (AGAIN!)
Steve Dennison (@routrax)
17th April 2015, 21:43
I was half watching/half listening to it at work, I thought I was hearing things when I heard that, switched back and he looked really wasted!
DaveWillis
17th April 2015, 23:47
Not so sure! Nico pole the last two years, Lewis never on pole. Nico faster on race pace last year just rubbish at tactical positioning for overtakes (Alonso would have set Lewis up three or four corners before the final move – Nico lacks this skill.)
If Nico stayed ahead at the start last year he would have won. He has a few tracks (and only a few) he is a specialist at and at Bahrain he historically has had an edge on Lewis.
Also let’s not forget that in 2014 Lewis was faster in Oz, Malaysia and China. Same this year.
Nico was faster in Bahrain and Barcelona. Same this year? And don’t count Ferrari out. Long run pace threatening and both drivers quick!
Lewis fans take solice from Fp2 mistake in turn 8 without which he would have topped the session. However that’s the reason he had never been on pole here. Mistakes!
Dan (@bandon23)
17th April 2015, 17:52
I don’t know why was happening to Vettel, but I think the brake issues might harmed him hitting Perez’s right-rear tyre. My answer is the brake failure issue. Also at the end of the session Kimi and Lewis went there on slow lane, but all of these cars are checking the vehicle. So my both answer might be Seb, Kimi and Lewis, if grid penalty is 3 of them this would be entirely nightmare for Ferrari.
Becken Lima (@becken-lima)
17th April 2015, 17:54
@nico_rosberg: “…Ferrari´s pace in race mode is worriyng…”
petebaldwin (@)
17th April 2015, 17:59
The Ferraris look decent but I think he has more than enough pace in the car to finish 2nd…
Ivan B (@njoydesign)
17th April 2015, 18:11
hummm there is some though. I don’t want to get my hopes high yet, but:
RAI (SOFT ? not sure):
17 1:38.943
18 1:39.357
19 1:39.351
20 1:39.629
21 1:40.667
22 1:39.663
23 1:40.077
24 1:40.204
25 7:08.813
26 1:39.745
27 1:40.375
28 1:40.809
ROS (MEDIUM):
13 1:48.795
14 1:39.453
15 1:40.097
16 1:39.630
17 1:40.000
18 1:40.994
19 1:45.806
20 1:40.160
21 1:40.363
22 1:41.001
23 1:40.370
24 1:40.048
25 1:41.455
26 1:41.191
27 1:41.028
VET (MEDIUM):
16 2:15.089
17 1:38.916
18 1:39.573
19 1:39.221
20 1:39.226
21 1:39.742
22 1:39.733
23 1:39.790
24 1:39.793
HAM (SOFT):
14 1:40.724
15 1:40.840
16 1:40.470
17 1:40.313
18 1:50.022
19 1:41.737
20 1:40.577
21 1:40.686
22 1:41.625
23 1:40.714
24 1:42.313
25 1:40.902
Ivan B (@njoydesign)
17th April 2015, 18:12
*some merit to it.
Funny how quite a few words just got lost)))
Ivan B (@njoydesign)
17th April 2015, 18:17
or did I get the tyres all wrong?
Becken Lima (@becken-lima)
17th April 2015, 18:23
I think not: I suspect Lewis times with soft tyres are a simulation of his first stint in the race, when we have a car very heavy in fuel.
reh1v2.0 (@reh1v2-0)
17th April 2015, 18:29
I believe is Raikkonen (Medium)
Rosberg (Soft)
Vettel (Soft)
Hamilton (Medium)
Lance (@lancelot)
17th April 2015, 19:35
@reh1v2-0 Raikkonen was on softs.
Matt (@mattf1f)
17th April 2015, 19:53
According to autosport live, Kimi & Lewis were on mediums.
reh1v2.0 (@reh1v2-0)
17th April 2015, 21:06
@Lance Raikkonen was on softs at the end of the session yes, but on the first longer stint he was on mediums. And I am quite surprised by that times set by Kimi.
Becken Lima (@becken-lima)
17th April 2015, 18:18
Thanks, @njoydesign
Average time laps on medius:
Nico: 1s40.445 — 14 laps
Seb : 1s39.499 — 8 laps
Gap : 0s946
Ivan B (@njoydesign)
17th April 2015, 18:25
@becken-lima
I did get the tyres wrong though. From Keith:
Hamilton ran on the Medium tyres, while Rosberg ran a stint on the Soft tyres.
So Rosberg was on softs seeing how far he can make them last. While Lewis was almost matching him on mediums.
Ian Bond (@ianbond001)
17th April 2015, 18:51
where do you get the long runs lap times data from?
Ivan B (@njoydesign)
17th April 2015, 19:04
@ianbond001
http://www.fia.com/events/fia-formula-1-world-championship/season-2015/event-timing-information-2
Ian Bond (@ianbond001)
17th April 2015, 19:10
got it; thanks; did not know about that
reh1v2.0 (@reh1v2-0)
17th April 2015, 18:37
It seems to me that Ferrari is much closer to Mercedes,
taking into account that both, Raikkonen and Vettel
lost about half a second in the last sector in their
fastest laps. Also, Vettel’s stint on the soft tires
looked a little better than Rosberg’s on the same tires.
Polo (@polo)
17th April 2015, 20:05
Hamilton lost around 4 tenths with a big lock-up in sector 2 on his fastest lap, so the gap shouldn’t be too misleading.
reh1v2.0 (@reh1v2-0)
17th April 2015, 21:36
That is true, but Rosberg had a much cleaner lap. I believe that the Mercedes is out of the reach in qualifying, but still secretly hope that Ferrari can pass at least one of them in the race.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
17th April 2015, 19:39
Excuse me for asking, but did you compile this breakdown of lap times yourself or did you get them off the internet?
Ivan B (@njoydesign)
17th April 2015, 19:42
@drycrust
see the link three comments above =)
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
17th April 2015, 19:48
Thanks for telling me. Doh! I’ll blame myself for not seeing it.
DaveW (@dmw)
17th April 2015, 18:14
Last time out, Rosberg was tasked with testing out the harder tire. In that case, Ferrari looked very close in practice. However, in the race, when they were all on the harder tire, Hamilton smoked Rosberg (and the Ferraris). I notice that this time MB reversed the testing roles for the tire. Maybe they noticed this too. Last year, similarly, Rosberg was good on the softer tire (and in qualifying) but Hamilton was able to often walk him when the harder tire went on.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
17th April 2015, 18:07
Rosberg might have penned the fastest lap today but from my position I can’t see Nico threatening this weekend. Nico is not driving the car right, Lewis looks at ease and the Mercs look good both on qually and race trim.
I can’t see Ferrari threatening, especially considering Ferrari’s setup.
Bahrain was never going to be an easy track for Ferrari regardless of the starting time.
Ferrari have been successful in the past but in this current gen Bahrain is too much of a power track, besides that degradation is not particularly high for the high abrasion surface. There’s only significant loss of tyre life on traction zones. I’m previewing a fight between Williams and Ferrari for the 3rd spot.
Polo (@polo)
17th April 2015, 20:02
Also Lewis had a big lock-up in sector 2 on his fastest lap – according to the sky commentary that cost him roughly 4 tenths, so he had some more pace in hand today. But of course, it’s the lap in qualifying that matters, we’ll see who delivers the best lap time tomorrow.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
17th April 2015, 22:06
I would also look at Alonso’s lap time. In Shanghai the McLaren looked good in FP but the top teams turned the PU up for Qualifying. I think today Mercedes were just trying their utmost to have good race pace. I think there’s 2.5 secs on the Merc for qualifying.
RogerA
18th April 2015, 1:41
Nico also made a mistake on his low fuel lap, Locked up into turn 10 & also missed the apex at turn 4.
I was watching his in-car camera on sky’s ipad app at the time.
Ian Stephens (@ians)
17th April 2015, 18:09
Which Red Bull followed Kimi & Lewis through the pit box? Will it get investigated too or do 2nd tier teams have different rules?
reh1v2.0 (@reh1v2-0)
17th April 2015, 18:40
It was Kwyat.
John H (@john-h)
17th April 2015, 19:00
It was an interesting one, because the guys were clearly waiting doing practice starts when the pit exit light was green. I’d almost argue that the people at the end of the pit lane not getting on with it should be more under investigation than Hamilton and Kimi (and Kvyat, or not Kvyat!). Perhaps something was discussed in the drivers’ briefing that we’re not party to – I think they usually discuss where to do the practice starts.
BasCB (@bascb)
17th April 2015, 19:18
well, in china (or was it Malaysia already) Grosjean got a grid penalty for doing exactly the same, so I would guess that the FIA have started to penalize this, until then it had been pretty normal behaviour @john-h
Matt (@mattf1f)
17th April 2015, 19:45
Just a reprimand for Räikkönen according to Fia website.
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
17th April 2015, 20:18
@bascb Imagine if they penalised Hamilton, Vettel and Raikkonen, so Rosberg won by default haha. Buzz kill.
steve (@maximustotalus)
17th April 2015, 20:35
Imagine the racing between the 3 say they got a 5 place or even a 10 place grid penalty and had to fight through the pack then when they got too 2nd 3 rd and 4th safety car so they can challenge rosberg and knock him down to 4th
DaveW (@dmw)
17th April 2015, 18:09
Encouraging result for McLaren, in terms of pace. As the critical comparison, .3s behind RBR. Some might say that turning down the engine, going slow, and working hard to gradually get reliable power is better than throwing on tons of untested updates and then throwing a tantrum when the car is both slow and unreliable.
pastaman (@)
17th April 2015, 18:55
Yes, as long as you can put up with impatient fans screaming bloody murder that their beloved team is ruined and will never score a point ever.
Keep your head down McLaren, you’ll get there!
Santiago Ontanon (@santiontanon)
17th April 2015, 19:02
Indeed! this was the closest McLaren has been to the top this season so far!
iAltair (@)
17th April 2015, 18:56
Formula 1
@F1
Vettel/Perez collision: Stewards decide no driver wholly or predominantly to blame, no further action should be taken. #F1 #BahrainGP
https://twitter.com/F1/status/589122444574597121
Patrick (@paeschli)
17th April 2015, 19:38
Thanks for this.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
17th April 2015, 20:12
I looked at the breakdown of the different Practice 2 lap times, and the one that stood out was Sebastian Vettel, who did 7 1:39 laps in a row. I like that!
My thanks to Ivan B for the link (above), much appreciated. I don’t know why they don’t make it more obvious that this sort of data is available.
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
17th April 2015, 20:19
@drycrust FIA got a new head of communications, but no improvement seen just yet..
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
17th April 2015, 20:23
@fastiesty I had never noticed this sort of data before, so I don’t know whether I had just overlooked it or that it has just become available. I suspect it was me.
palmerstoneroad (@palmerstoneroad)
17th April 2015, 21:54
FIA should mention the type of tyres for each stint in these documents, lap timing wihtout that information is not useful
Philip (@philipgb)
17th April 2015, 23:41
Looking how close Ferrari and Mercedes race pace is I’m starting to be reminded of 2013 where Red Bull, Lotus and Ferrari were all hitting the performance ceiling of the tyre and Red Bull were complaining their chassis could go faster but the tyres couldn’t take it.
I think by next year with another year for Allison to develop that Ferrari I’m not too confident of Mercedes still dominating.