Russian GP: Practice 2 a washout (Update)

UPDATE

Vettel braves the elements
Vettel braves the elements

The times from practice 2 have been added below. Drivers complained about the slippery conditions, with several going off because of the large amounts of standing water on the track.

Rob Smedley, Williams Head of Performance Engineering: It was quite a stunted session today which stopped us from completing all of the work we wanted to. We had planned to run in the wet but we had a strange situation this afternoon in that half of the circuit was much wetter than the other half which made most of the tests null and void. We have been working on the wet set-up of the car and so wanted to get out at the end of FP2 to see the progress we have made. In a similar vein to our low speed corner work in Singapore, we seem to be making progress. We got through all of the bits and pieces we wanted to get through in terms of control systems and power unit set-up, and we have to go into tomorrow with a good plan for FP3 to get the car set-up for qualifying and the race.

Felipe Massa: We weren’t able to complete a lot of laps today with the wet weather in the afternoon and the spillage that disrupted the morning session. The laps we did complete gave us some understanding of the track and what it’s like in wet conditions, but it’s difficult to say where we are compared to other teams at this stage because there weren’t many cars out on track. Tomorrow morning will be busy for everyone and we need to make sure we make the most of the final practice session.

Valtteri Bottas: The track conditions made today difficult to get a full testing program complete but it was the same for everyone. We still tried to maximize both of the sessions and we managed to learn a few things about the tires and how the car performs in wet conditions. We now need to make a good plan for FP3 because, like in Japan, it will be a very important session to get us ready for qualifying and the race

10/09/15 The 2nd practice for the Russian GP at Sochi has been beset by rain throughout. Therefore, the times are meaningless as drivers struggle for any traction on the diesel fuel slickened track. For what they are worth, we will post final times shortly.

Results

Pos Driver Car Time Behind Laps
1 Felipe Massa Williams/Mercedes 2m00.458s 0.000s 6
2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari/Ferrari 2m00.659s 0.201s 8
3 Valtteri Bottas Williams/Mercedes 2m00.688s 0.230s 8
4 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso/Renault 2m00.806s 0.348s 7
5 Fernando Alonso McLaren/Honda 2m01.077s 0.619s 12
6 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull/Renault 2m01.418s 0.960s 6
7 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso/Renault 2m02.805s 2.347s 7
8 Jenson Button McLaren/Honda 2m02.845s 2.387s 8
9 Nico Rosberg Mercedes/Mercedes 6
10 Marcus Ericsson Sauber/Ferrari 3
11 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes/Mercedes 3
12 Sergio Perez Force India/Mercedes 3
13 Nico Hulkenberg Force India/Mercedes 3
14 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull/Renault 1