Max after P6 in second free practice: “Really happy with the car.”

Published on 08 May 2015 by Mike Motilall

Having been constantly in the top six during the first free practice, Max Verstappen repeated the same feat in the second one hour and a half free practice. With a 1:28.017 the Scuderia Toro Rosso-driver was only outdone by Lewis Hamilton, by just a little over a second on Circuit Barcelona-Catalunya.

“We are shining here in Barcelona and I am happy with that”, says Max to Verstappen.nl. “I am certainly happy with my day and the sixth position. This was the first time I was really happy with the car. My lap times immediately showed that everything was working well together.” Looking forward to Saturday, Max says: "I am happy with the car’s setup. Given the fact that the temperature tomorrow, during qualification, will more or less be the same as this afternoon, I feel pretty sure that we will also have a good balance. Hopefully we can continue in this good shape.”

When the second free practice gets on its way, the temperature in Spain has reached some 26°C. During his first run, on the harder compound, the 17-year old driver notes a decent fifth time, but moments later the red flag is out. Max has already seen that, as he is the first to reach the debris with which the straight is littered. In a remarkable incident, the entire engine cover of Romain Grosjean’s Lotus, completely explodes. Large pieces of bodywork are quickly removed by the marshalls from the track and the session continues.

Not much later, Max gets a set of mediums strapped on his STR10 and in his ninth lap, with a 1:28.017, he claims fourth. His fastest time of the day. At the end of the session, it seems that is good enough for sixth, but not before the Dutchman does a long run on the harder compound tyres. Just before the end, the team also practices a pit stop and just like that, after 32 laps, the second free practice is over.

World Champion Hamilton, made some tracks, only Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) was able to get close by four tenths of a second. Even Nico Rosberg in his Mercedes, but ahead of Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)  and Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull Racing) was left trailing behind. With Max on P6 and Carlos Sainz on P9, Toro Rosso can look back pleased with their first day for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The second Red Bull-car, that of Daniel Ricciardo, was once again faced with issues regarding the Renault-engine. The Australian was seen on track at the end of the second free practice and only did a few laps. This meant he only did a mere thirteen laps.

Spanish Grand Prix - Circuit Barcelona-Catalunya - Friday 8 May

 P No Driver 		Team 		Time 	  Gap   Laps
 1 44 Lewis Hamilton   	Mercedes 	1:26.852s  	  26 
 2  5 Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari 	1:27.260s +0.408s 37 
 3  6 Nico Rosberg    	Mercedes 	1:27.616s +0.764s 35 
 4  7 Kimi Räikkönen    Ferrari 	1:27.780s +0.928s 36 
 5 26 Daniil Kvyat    	Red Bull 	1:27.943s +1.091s 25 
 6 33 Max Verstappen    Toro Rosso 	1:28.017s +1.165s 32 
 7 22 Jenson Button    	McLaren 	1:28.494s +1.642s 31 
 8 77 Valtteri Bottas   Williams 	1:28.525s +1.673s 39 
 9 55 Carlos Sainz    	Toro Rosso 	1:28.674s +1.822s 31 
10 19 Felipe Massa    	Williams 	1:28.712s +1.860s 36 
11 14 Fernando Alonso   McLaren 	1:28.723s +1.871s 28 
12  8 Romain Grosjean  	Lotus 		1:29.086s +2.234s 14 
13  3 Daniel Ricciardo  Red Bull 	1:29.098s +2.246s  4 
14 13 Pastor Maldonado  Lotus 		1:29.217s +2.365s 34 
15 12 Felipe Nasr    	Sauber 		1:29.333s +2.481s 37 
16  9 Marcus Ericsson   Sauber 		1:29.361s +2.509s 34 
17 27 Nico Hulkenberg   Force India 	1:29.601s +2.749s 38 
18 11 Sergio Perez    	Force India 	1:29.707s +2.855s 35 
19 28 Will Stevens    	Marussia 	1:31.929s +5.077s 30 
20 98 Roberto Merhi    	Marussia 	1:32.751s +5.899s 23

On Twitter and Facebook we'll keep you updated throughout the weekend followed by a full report on Verstappen.nl at the end of the day’s action. You can find the schedule for the Spanish Grand Prix here. 

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