Free Practice 2 – Belgium: Mercedes dominate again, Rosberg has a scare

As this morning, the conditions are ideal for the start of the second practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix: it’s 22°C in the air, 38°C on the track.

The drivers are back out immediately, and this time, they chain the laps directly. Sebastian Vettel is the first to take the lead with 1:52.606, just two thousandths ahead of Valtteri Bottas. While he is quickly beaten by Kimi Räikkönen (1:52.292), it’s Daniil Kvyat who sets the first significant mark with 1:51.135. He then leads Nico Rosberg (1:51.292) and Lewis Hamilton (1:51.580). But the German from Mercedes continues his good momentum from the morning by taking the lead with a time of 1:51.052.

After 15 minutes, the top 10 are Rosberg, Kvyat, Hamilton, Räikkönen, Hülkenberg, Vettel, Bottas, Massa, Sainz, Perez. Only Maldonado, who crashed this morning, Daniel Ricciardo, and Fernando Alonso have not yet hit the track during this session.

Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Romain Grosjean have minor off-track excursions that have no consequences. For his first timed lap, Daniel Ricciardo slips into second position, 28 thousandths behind Rosberg. The two Mercedes thus frame the two Red Bulls on the timesheet while Felipe Nasr is in a fine 5th place.

It is at that moment that Sebastian Vettel sets the fastest time, dipping below the 1:51 mark for the first time of the weekend, with a 1:50.940. But the competition quickly intensifies as Nico Rosberg switches to soft tires and clocks in a 1:49.385, over 1.3 seconds ahead of a surprising Marcus Ericsson.

BOOM! 1:49.385 for @nico_rosberg sees him soar to P1 with that opening soft-shod effort! #F1 #FP2 #BelgianGP

— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) 21 Août 2015

Which gives the following hierarchy after 30 minutes of the session: Rosberg, Ericsson, Vettel, Ricciardo, Kvyat, Hamilton, Nasr, Perez, Räikkönen, Massa.

The commissioners this weekend will start their work with two investigations launched on Hülkenberg for blocking Romain Grosjean and on Daniil Kvyat for exiting the pits right in front of Felipe Nasr.

Lewis Hamilton also switched to soft tires, and it shows in the lap time, even though he remains three-tenths behind Nico Rosberg. As for Kimi Räikkönen, he is a full second behind but is in third position. It is at this moment that Pastor Maldonado is able to join the track after his mechanics repaired his damaged car.

Pastor is back from his run whilst Romain joins the track #FP2 pic.twitter.com/JT2YpKAnfg

— Lotus F1 Team (@Lotus_F1Team) 21 Août 2015

Absent again this morning, Romain Grosjean is trying to make up for lost time and completes several laps. He manages to set the fourth fastest time of the session at 1:50.489, while most of the other drivers have returned to the pits. However, the Frenchman’s time doesn’t hold up against improvements by the two Red Bulls and Nico Hülkenberg, dropping him to 7th position. It is worth noting that the German from Sahara Force India set the same time as Kimi Räikkönen.

Meanwhile, it is reported that Fernando Alonso will receive a 30-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race for changing all five elements of his engine. Therefore, he will start last, unless Jenson Button receives the same penalty and is placed behind the Spaniard after qualifying.

Half an hour to go, the top 10 is Rosberg, Hamilton, Ricciardo, Kvyat, Räikkönen, Hülkenberg, Grosjean, Ericsson, Nasr, Vettel. The two Williams are not in dazzling form this weekend as Valtteri Bottas is 14th and Felipe Massa is 16th, just ahead of the two McLarens.

RED FLAG: @nico_rosberg‘s right rear blows into pieces and he skids – safely – off the road #FP2 #BelgianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/sA714wRA8p

— Formula 1 (@F1) 21 Août 2015

Five minutes later, a big scare for Nico Rosberg: his right rear tire literally exploded just before the Blanchimont turn. The German managed to stop his Mercedes from hitting the wall, but the track was covered in debris, forcing a new red flag. Pirelli will be in the spotlight again, as at Silverstone 2014.

In less than ten minutes, the drivers are allowed to return to the track for a final short quarter-hour session. But five minutes later, the red flag is out again due to Marcus Ericsson losing control on the Pouhon corner curbs. Both the front and rear of his Sauber are damaged, and he apologizes to his team.

The green flag is waved five minutes from the end, and the entire field rushes onto the track for a final stint. Unfortunately, in the last moments of the session, Romain Grosjean’s Lotus has to stop on the track, presumably due to a power unit issue.

From our special correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps