Max fifth in FP2: "Happy with long run pace"

Published on 30 September 2016 by Stefan Meens

After a seventh place in FP1, Max Verstappen continued his Malaysian Grand Prix weekend with P5 in the second Friday free practice session. The Dutchman trailed fastest man Lewis Hamilton by a second. The world champion’s team mate Nico Rosberg and the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen completed the top four.

“Both sessions went well”, explained Max. “We took our time to build up the pace in FP1. We had to get used to the new track surface and had to adjust our car for it. We can still improve our quali runs but the long runs were particularly strong. The pace on the soft tyres was OK, but we can gain more time there. The long run speed is good and the car did exactly what I wanted. I could really throw it into the corners without losing time. That’s really positive.”

Max kicks off his FP2, ten minutes into the session, with a five lap run on the medium compound. With an hour to go, Max sets his quickest time of the session. On a set of the soft Pirellis, he clocks a 1:36.037.

After a long time in the garage, Max heads out for long runs in the final half an hour of the session. By consistently lapping in the 1:40s on the soft tyre, Max shows his team have good long run speed. After a fifteen lap stint, the 19-year-old bolts on a set of the medium Pirellis for a final stint in which he again post consistent, encouraging lap times.

In a session without any noteworthy incidents, Lewis Hamilton set the pace ahead of his team mate Nico Rosberg. Both Ferraris, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, occupied P3 and P4, followed by Max. The latter’s Red Bull Racing team mate, Daniel Ricciardo, had to settle for eighth.

Malaysian Grand Prix - Sepang International Circuit

RESULTS FREE PRACTICE 2

01 44 Lewis Hamilton      Mercedes                    1:34.944           35
02  6 Nico Rosberg        Mercedes                    1:35.177  +0.233s  36
03  5 Sebastian Vettel    Ferrari                     1:35.605  +0.661s  37
04  7 Kimi Räikkönen      Ferrari                     1:35.842  +0.898s  31
05 33 Max Verstappen      Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:36.037  +1.093s  29
06 11 Sergio Perez        Force India Mercedes        1:36.284  +1.340s  33
07 14 Fernando Alonso     McLaren Honda               1:36.296  +1.352s  27
08  3 Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:36.337  +1.393s  30
09 27 Nico Hulkenberg     Force India Mercedes        1:36.390  +1.446s  37
10 22 Jenson Button       McLaren Honda               1:36.715  +1.771s  22
11 55 Carlos Sainz        Toro Rosso Ferrari          1:36.836  +1.892s  30
12 30 Jolyon Palmer       Renault                     1:36.940  +1.996s  36
13 77 Valtteri Bottas     Williams Mercedes           1:37.016  +2.072s  37
14 21 Esteban Gutierrez   Haas Ferrari                1:37.048  +2.104s  28
15 19 Felipe Massa        Williams Mercedes           1:37.110  +2.166s  19
16 26 Daniil Kvyat        Toro Rosso Ferrari          1:37.297  +2.353s  29
17  9 Marcus Ericsson     Sauber Ferrari              1:37.449  +2.505s  28
18 12 Felipe Nasr         Sauber Ferrari              1:37.547  +2.603s  26
19 20 Kevin Magnussen     Renault                     1:37.664  +2.720s  19
20  8 Romain Grosjean     Haas Ferrari                1:37.789  +2.845s  25
21 94 Pascal Wehrlein     MRT Mercedes                1:37.878  +2.934s  34
22 31 Esteban Ocon        MRT Mercedes                1:37.990  +3.046s  36

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