Getty Images Defending world champion Sebastian Vettel has continued his good pace from Free Practice 1 after finishing quickest in the second Friday session in Australia.
The Red Bull driver finished over two-tenths clear of teammate Mark Webber, with the team having made a big step forward since the final test in Barcelona.
Nico Rosberg finished third for Mercedes, with his teammate Lewis Hamilton down in seventh place despite both drivers encountering problems late in the session. The Silver Arrows will be pleased with their progress, although they have failed to repeat their testing pace so far. The Lotus pairing of Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean finished fourth and fifth respectively ahead of Fernando Alonso in sixth, and Felipe Massa struggled to match his FP1 success down in seventh.
Many of the drivers struggled with the new Pirelli tires, with their super-soft rubber prvoing particularly difficult to work with late in the session. Hamilton and Caterham rookie Giedo van der Garde both beached their cars in the gravel, and Mark Webber spun his RB9 late on as he pushed to beat his teammate.
Once again, it seems that Red Bull, Ferrari, Lotus and Mercedes are closely matched with less than one second separating the top eight. McLaren appear to have work to do, finishing in 11th and 13th, whilst Jules Bianchi and Marussia will be happy to not only have beaten Caterham but also finish just three-tenths off Williams’ Valtteri Bottas.
Free Practice 2 – Classification
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:25.908 33 laps
2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:26.172 +0.264 31 laps
3 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:26.322 +0.414 26 laps
4 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus-Renault 1:26.361 +0.453 38 laps
5 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1:26.680 +0.772 32 laps
6 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:26.748 +0.840 35 laps
7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:26.772 +0.864 28 laps
8 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:26.855 +0.947 32 laps
9 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:27.435 +1.527 35 laps
10 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1:28.187 +2.279 34 laps
11 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:28.294 +2.386 30 laps
12 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:28.311 +2.403 37 laps
13 Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1:28.566 +2.658 33 laps
14 Daniel Ricciardo STR-Ferrari 1:28.627 +2.719 31 laps
15 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1:28.772 +2.864 33 laps
16 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1:28.852 +2.944 36 laps
17 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Ferrari 1:28.968 +3.060 36 laps
18 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1:29.386 +3.478 39 laps
19 Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1:29.696 +3.788 32 laps
20 Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1:30.165 +4.257 37 laps
21 Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1:30.600 +4.692 36 laps
22 Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1:32.450 +6.542 11 laps
-
AP
With about 20 minutes remaining in Bump Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Katherine Legge was strapped into her No. 81 Schmidt Peterson Pelfrey Motorsports Honda, ready to defend her spot on the 33rd starting position for the 97th Indianapolis 500 if necessary. Turns out she didn’t have to bother. Legge’s four-lap average of 223.176…
-
Hinchcliffe aims for third win of season at Indianapolis (VIDEO)
May 19, 2013, 5:18 PM EDT
Getty Images
As James Hinchcliffe tweeted after his dramatic victory in the most recent IZOD IndyCar Series race at Sao Paulo, Brazil, “I don’t always finish races, but when I do, I prefer to win.” “Rollercoaster” may be the optimal word to describe the Canadian fan favorite’s season so far. It began at St. Petersburg, Florida with…
-
Walker: Getting fans “re-ignited” is IndyCar’s biggest challenge
May 19, 2013, 4:10 PM EDT
Getty Images
Five years after open-wheel racing unified in North America, the IZOD IndyCar Series continues to face a uphill climb in regards to growing its mainstream presence. The split between the series (then known as the Indy Racing League) and Champ Car that lasted from 1996 to 2008 had a disastrous impact on the sport, causing…
-
Johnson out to reclaim Charlotte glory at next week’s Coke 600
May 19, 2013, 3:14 PM EDT
Getty Images
With his fourth NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race victory in hand, Jimmie Johnson now looks to re-assert himself as the king of NASCAR’s longest challenge — the Coca-Cola 600. Johnson, the five-time Sprint Cup champion, won three consecutive “600s” at Charlotte Motor Speedway from 2003 to 2005. But the 1.5-mile oval outside the Queen City has…
-
Getty Images
Charlie Kimball (pictured), Dario Franchitti, Josef Newgarden and Graham Rahal will be forced to suffer 10-spot grid penalties for the first race of the next IZOD IndyCar Series event — the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit doubleheader on June 1 — due to unapproved engine changes this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Chip Ganassi Racing…
-
AP
The Indianapolis 500 has its traditional field of 33 cars, but the starting grid will not be completely set until the gun goes off at 6 p.m. ET at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Going into today’s Bump Day action, ten drivers were set to battle for the nine remaining starting spots on the grid. So…
-
AP
Following the completion of Bump Day today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the 33 starters in the Indianapolis 500 field will fan out across North America to promote next weekend’s big race. You can expect to see a few of the big-name drivers make their way across morning television shows and major newspapers in the…
-
AP
Some of the 10 drivers attempting to qualify on Sunday at Indianapolis are going through their first Bump Day. For others, this marks a wretched return experience. All but one will make the field, but for that one who doesn’t, it’s heartbreak. Bump Day qualifying airs from noon to 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports…
-
Getty Images
Claire Williams has tipped Valtteri Bottas to become Formula One world champion in the future, despite failing to score during his opening five races for Williams F1 team. Talking to the official Formula One website about Bottas, Williams said: “He is so great. Cool and calm. He is a typical Finn. “I think we definitely…
-
Graham Rahal fastest, teammate struggles in Bump Day practice
May 19, 2013, 10:27 AM EDT
Getty Images
Graham Rahal was quickest in Sunday morning’s practice session on Armed Forces Bump Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Bump Day qualifying is live from noon to 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network, and live streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra. Rahal, who had one qualifying run bumped and another not quick enough yesterday…
-
AP
He may be in his third season of Formula One and driving for one of the biggest teams in the sport, but Sergio Perez is yet to score any points at the Monaco Grand Prix; a streak he hopes to end next weekend during F1′s annual visit to the principality. “Monaco is a great challenge…
-
Getty Images
Nico Hulkenberg may not have started the season as he would have liked, scoring just five points from the first five races, but the German driver is feeling positive ahead of next weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix. “In terms of performance, I’m quite positive. We’ve seen that the softer tire compounds suit us quite well, which…
-
Getty Images
Giedo van der Garde believes that Caterham still has room for improvement despite surpassing Marussia in the last couple of races to move off the back of the grid. The battle at the back has been intense of late, with Marussia’s charge being led by Jules Bianchi and the Anglo-Russian team appeared to have the…
-
Getty Images
Felipe Massa has encouraged Ferrari to improve their qualifying pace in order to give themselves the best possible chance of winning both championships in 2013. Ferrari have made a good start to the season, winning two of the opening five races, but it is almost one year since the Italian team last claimed a pole…
-
Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson became the first four-time winner in the history of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race tonight at Charlotte Motor Speedway, taking the lead from Kasey Kahne with eight laps to go in the final 10-lap segment and pulling away to a $1 million prize. A second $1 million bonus that was to be handed…
-
AP
As bad as today was for Honda — who had none of their cars make the Fast Nine shootout for the Indianapolis 500 pole — it’s not the end of the world. After all, the manufacturer only had one car in the Fast Nine last year yet rallied on Race Day to secure a 1-2…
-
Getty Images
Andretti Autosport wasn’t able to come away with the pole position for the 97th Indianapolis 500, but still placed all five of their drivers within the first three rows for next Sunday’s race — an accomplishment that thrilled one of their own, outside front-row qualifier Marco Andretti. “Extremely proud of my team,” said Andretti, who…
-
Reuters
So far, Indianapolis 500 rookie Carlos Munoz is making this IndyCar thing look easy. Munoz is making his big-league debut in the 97th running of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, but there’s been no sign of first-time jitters for the young Colombian. Driving a fifth car for Andretti Autosport (the team he races for in…
-
With Indy pole captured, Carpenter sets sights on bigger prize
May 18, 2013, 8:43 PM EDT
Getty Images
Since he was a little boy, Ed Carpenter — Indianapolis native, Butler University graduate, and stepson of IZOD IndyCar Series founder Tony George — has known how important the Indianapolis 500 is. Perhaps that is why he’s taking his pole position for the 97th running in stride, instead focusing on what lies ahead next weekend.…
-
AP
Thrilling the hometown fans at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indiana native Ed Carpenter rocketed to the pole position for next weekend’s Indianapolis 500, becoming the first Hoosier since Pat O’Connor in 1957 to win the pole for The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Carpenter, who is the IZOD IndyCar Series’ sole owner/driver, was the fifth of…
