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Rosberg hot, Force India off early
Source: Agencies |
April 21, 2012, Saturday
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NICO Rosberg topped the times for Mercedes in yesterday's second free practice session ahead of this weekend's controversial Bahrain Grand Prix after the Force India team had chosen to withdraw early on safety grounds.
The 26-year-old German followed up his maiden Formula One victory at last weekend's Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai with a controlled demonstration of his potential and the speed of his Mercedes car.
On a tense day with intensified security around the Sakhir circuit outside Manama, Rosberg produced a measured performance to clock the best lap midway through the 90-minute action in one minute and 32.816 seconds.
This lap time left him four-tenths of a second clear of nearest rival Australian Mark Webber of Red Bull who, in turn, was ahead of his teammate defending champion Sebastian Vettel of Germany.
World championship leader Briton Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, who topped the times in the morning's opening free practice session, was unable to repeat his pace and struggled to fourth with a revised set-up as the track temperature fell from 40 degrees Celsius to 33 degrees.
The Force India team chose to take no part in the second session, instead preparing its cars for today's running - having used its allocation of soft tires in the morning - in order to make an early departure to its hotel before nightfall.
Four of the team's mechanics had been caught up in a confrontation between police and protesters on the highway back to the capital Manama on Wednesday evening when a petrol bomb exploded close to their unbranded rental car.
Two members of the Silverstone-based team reacted to the incident by asking to leave and they flew home on Thursday.
Asked about the decision to miss second practice, Force India's deputy principal Bob Fernley said, "We've had issues, as you all know, with things and we have to make sure that the crew are comfortable in the environment and that's what we're working on."
The Sauber team yesterday also issued a statement that confirmed it drove through a similar incident on Thursday evening. None of the 12 mechanics in the unmarked mini-bus were hurt.
On the eve of yesterday's practice session, protests flared in villages surrounding Manama, away from the race circuit. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse demonstrators in clashes that have been building in the week leading to tomorrow's world championship round.
The 26-year-old German followed up his maiden Formula One victory at last weekend's Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai with a controlled demonstration of his potential and the speed of his Mercedes car.
On a tense day with intensified security around the Sakhir circuit outside Manama, Rosberg produced a measured performance to clock the best lap midway through the 90-minute action in one minute and 32.816 seconds.
This lap time left him four-tenths of a second clear of nearest rival Australian Mark Webber of Red Bull who, in turn, was ahead of his teammate defending champion Sebastian Vettel of Germany.
World championship leader Briton Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, who topped the times in the morning's opening free practice session, was unable to repeat his pace and struggled to fourth with a revised set-up as the track temperature fell from 40 degrees Celsius to 33 degrees.
The Force India team chose to take no part in the second session, instead preparing its cars for today's running - having used its allocation of soft tires in the morning - in order to make an early departure to its hotel before nightfall.
Four of the team's mechanics had been caught up in a confrontation between police and protesters on the highway back to the capital Manama on Wednesday evening when a petrol bomb exploded close to their unbranded rental car.
Two members of the Silverstone-based team reacted to the incident by asking to leave and they flew home on Thursday.
Asked about the decision to miss second practice, Force India's deputy principal Bob Fernley said, "We've had issues, as you all know, with things and we have to make sure that the crew are comfortable in the environment and that's what we're working on."
The Sauber team yesterday also issued a statement that confirmed it drove through a similar incident on Thursday evening. None of the 12 mechanics in the unmarked mini-bus were hurt.
On the eve of yesterday's practice session, protests flared in villages surrounding Manama, away from the race circuit. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse demonstrators in clashes that have been building in the week leading to tomorrow's world championship round.
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