Kimi Raikkonen continued his run of form during Friday’s second practice session ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Finn continued to lead the field in his Ferrari, as the competition improved.
Hamilton showed he’s a real contender for this Sunday’s victory, setting a lap time just 0.013 seconds behind Raikkonen s best lap of 1:33.527. The BMW of Robert Kubica took third spot, a further third of a second back.
As Kimi shone in the blistering heat, team-mate Felipe Massa’s bad luck continued as he made a mistake on his flying lap, despite using the softer compound tyre. He finished up fourth by the end of the session, with Alonso topping out the top five using only hard compound tyres.
Honda’s luck went from bad to worse, with the RA107 of Britain’s Jenson Button, belching flames early into his lap. The subsequent oil spill caused Massa to spin. Jenson will now start 10 places back on the grid from the position he achieves during qualifying. Button finished last with team-mate Barrichello a distant 11th.
Bahrain Grand Prix – P2 Times:
1. Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:33.527, 22 laps
2. Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes, 1:33.540 + 0.013, 33
3. Kubica, BMW Sauber, 1:33.732 + 0.205, 37
4. Massa, Ferrari, 1:33.772 + 0.245, 28
5. Alonso, McLaren-Mercedes, 1:33.784 + 0.257, 30
6. Wurz, Williams-Toyota, 1:33.973 + 0.446, 26
7. Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 1:34.076 + 0.549, 34
8. Rosberg, Williams-Toyota, 1:34.189 + 0.662, 34
9. Coulthard, Red Bull-Renault, 1:34.359 + 0.832, 32
10. Trulli, Toyota, 1:34.366 + 0.839, 33
11. Barrichello, Honda, 1:34.391 + 0.864, 28
12. Kovalainen, Renault, 1:34.585 + 1.058, 33
13. Davidson, Super Aguri-Honda, 1:34.595 + 1.068, 29
14. Webber, Red Bull-Renault, 1:34.677 + 1.150, 24
15. Fisichella, Renault, 1:34.796 + 1.269, 34
16. Sato, Super Aguri-Honda, 1:35.001 + 1.474, 35
17. Liuzzi, Toro Rosso-Ferrari, 1:35.268 + 1.741, 38
18. R.Schumacher, Toyota, 1:35.427 + 1.900, 29
19. Sutil, Spyker-Ferrari, 1:35.582 + 2.055, 31
20. Speed, Toro Rosso-Ferrari, 1:35.687 + 2.160, 34
21. Albers, Spyker-Ferrari, 1:35.835 + 2.308, 30
22. Button, Honda, 1:36.079 + 2.552, 19
