Max P4 in FP2: "Fight with Ferrari will be interesting!"
Published on 29 July 2016 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen finished fourth in the second free practice session of the German Grand Prix. The Dutchman showed encouraging pace in the long runs. The gap to the Ferraris and Mercedes was also smaller than the morning's FP1 session. Fastest man Nico Rosberg was eight tenths quicker than the Red Bull driver with a 1:15.614, followed by Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. Max' team mate Daniel Ricciardo was fifth quickest.
“It was a good day. We were able to test a lot”, said a cheery Max Verstappen to Verstappen.nl. “It is my first time at Hockenheim in an F1 car so I was able to really learn the circuit. The long-runs looked good, although the tyres are having a tough time around here. My front wheels locked up quite a lot. Hopefully we can work on that tomorrow”, said the 18-year-old, who acknowledged that a victory is not realistic despite the gap to Mercedes getting smaller. “We'll need a whole lot of luck for a win.”
Max also shared his thoughts on the radio regulations which now permit full communication. “I think the new rules are better for the fans. It means they can hear everything. Otherwise they are just looking at cars going round. We've got a radio so why not use it? Otherwise we can just get rid of them.” The Red Bull ace is also an advocate of strict track rules regarding track limits. “If there are no rules, everyone will try to gain an advantage. Then again, I don't think you can win a lot of time on this track going outside the track limits. Staying within them is still fastest.”
At the start of the session most drivers are right on the limit. Track limits are exceeded left, right and centre, with Sergio Perez managing to make the front of his Force India come of the ground.
Max's first timed lap is set on the soft tyre, a second of the pace compared to his fastest lap in the morning. However, that time was driven on the fastest compound used this weekend, the super-soft Pirellis.
Hulkenberg is the first driver to clock a time on these. Soon after, the rest of the teams follow. Max' first timed lap on the faster tyres is impressive as it is his fastest lap of the session (1:16.456). This quick effort is half a second quicker than his time in FP1.
With half an hour to go, Max heads out for a long run on the super-softs he used for his fastest lap earlier in the session. After a 18-lap stint, the youngster returns to pits where his mechanics make adjustments to his front wing. The Red Bull ace then heads out for a final short run on a used set of soft Pirellis to conclude his Friday's running.
German Grand Prix - Hockenheim - Friday 29 July
RESULTS FREE PRACTICE 2 01 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:15.614 43 02 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:16.008 +0.394s 36 03 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:16.208 +0.594s 39 04 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:16.456 +0.842s 40 05 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:16.490 +0.876s 38 06 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:16.512 +0.898s 45 07 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes 1:16.781 +1.167s 43 08 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda 1:17.087 +1.473s 16 09 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 1:17.148 +1.534s 44 10 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 1:17.225 +1.611s 21 11 55 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso Ferrari 1:17.342 +1.728s 32 12 26 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso Ferrari 1:17.367 +1.753s 38 13 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams Mercedes 1:17.425 +1.811s 44 14 8 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 1:17.602 +1.988s 13 15 19 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 1:17.686 +2.072s 40 16 21 Esteban Gutierrez Haas Ferrari 1:18.005 +2.391s 42 17 20 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1:18.056 +2.442s 46 18 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 1:18.130 +2.516s 28 19 94 Pascal Wehrlein MRT Mercedes 1:18.193 +2.579s 42 20 30 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1:18.313 +2.699s 47 21 88 Rio Haryanto MRT Mercedes 1:18.591 +2.977s 47 22 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari 1:19.295 + 3.681s 41
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