Nice Buttonian lapette, eclipsed by a proper lap from Rosberg. How many laps has Alonso done on these options? Five? Six? Sector times are still ok.
Tyres seem to be holding up quite well, I think some of the midfield cars might try a one stopper, especially the Saubers.
Alonso on top, Hamilton close. please log in to view this image With the new supersoft tyres holding up well and the difference to the soft compound tyres being greater than expected, are we back to following this season's trend of the option tyre being the preferred race tyre, meaning qualifying will (as usual) mean preserving as many sets of options as possible?
There was an unofficial comment from Pirelli 'time difference is 1.2 secs between soft - supersoft. I wonder if faster teams agree?
IIRC Alonso's fastest FP2 prime tyre run was 1:16.408, and his fastest option tyre run was 1:15.123, so 1.3 seconds, tallying with Pirelli's 1.2 to 1.4 seconds difference. It's a bit apples and oranges, of course, because of fuel loads and the track rubbering in. If I've remembered that time of Alonso's correctly, 107% is 1:21.756. The HRT's are a tad outside that at the moment. Sarah Holt's much better than the FIA at lap timings:
Ferrari's updates are working well. Alonso has a real chance here and I am anticipating a potentially fascinating battle with Hamilton and Vettel. Rosberg is looking pretty handy too and could be on the podium: at present he is keeping a cool head at the circuit where it matters most, and Button is ticking the very same boxes. Massa is looking untidy and Schumacher is looking plain slow. From the top teams, this just leaves Webber needing a mention: we all know he's a battler but he's not fully up there at the front yet… The gap between the tyres is not so great as Barcelona although I think most teams will seek to use the Primes just once during the race.
Vettel just needs a good result here, keep his head down for Canada and then kick ass until Spa and Monza.
More Ferrari updates: New beam wing and tighter rear end: please log in to view this image New engine cover: please log in to view this image I'm pretty sure there's a new rear wing as well, but the differences are very small.
Alonso is setting a pace that Massa looks ragged at following ! Maybe he(Massa) is going to kiss the armco before long (FP3).
Massa was lucky on several occasions not to smash his car up. You can bet Ferrari won't be risking a one stopper with him tomorrow, unless Alonso needs a safety car of course.
