Kimi Brasil

Long runs and plenty of work on the yellow marked soft compound Pirelli tyres saw Kimi and Romain rack up a healthy number of laps in Free Practice 2 from the Valencia Street Circuit this afternoon; ending the day in P11 and P8 respectively during another productive session for the team

Kimi Räikkönen, E20-03

• Position: P11
• Best Time: 1:39.945
• Laps Completed: 34

Romain Grosjean, E20-04

• Position: P8
• Best Time: 1:39.868
• Laps Completed: 33

For a full run-down of the session’s final standings.

Key Moments:

• 1min: Romain leads Kimi out for their first runs; scrubbed / fresh sets of white marked medium compound Pirelli tyres respectively
• 25mins: The Finn heads out for his second stint on another set of new mediums
• 31mins: Used mediums again for the Frenchman as he emerges for run number two
• 45mins: Yellow flags; Pedro De La Rosa off heavily into the barriers at Turn 14, both cars return to the garage
• 53mins: First stints on the yellow marked soft compound tyres for both drivers; Kimi goes P6, Romain P3
• 65mins: The Lotus F1 Team pairing begin long runs on soft tyres
• 72mins: Romain locks up heavily; flat spots his tyres and almost collides with Michael Schumacher
• 90mins: Kimi ends the session in P11, Romain in P8

Summary:

As Free Practice 2 got underway this afternoon, warmer conditions and a drop in wind speed from the morning session created a slightly more representative scenario for the teams ahead of the expected heat wave forecast for the rest of the weekend.

Both drivers emerged immediately from the garage as the green flags were waved; Kimi sporting a fresh set of white marked medium compound tyres with Romain opting for a scrubbed set of the same rubber.

Long runs were the order of the day as the team analysed the E20’s performance on different tyre compounds under heavy fuel loads; starting with the medium and then focusing on the softer options.

The only slight interruption during an otherwise productive session came when Pedro De La Rosa buried his HRT in the tyre barriers at Turn 14, bringing out the yellow flags and subsequently causing the team to call both drivers into the pits.

Romain set pulses racing on the pit wall with a big lock up during his final stint; the Frenchman putting a significant flat spot on his tyres and almost collecting Michael Schumacher in the process.

With a good distance completed and a host of data gathered in preparation for the rest of the weekend, Kimi brought his E20 home in P11 with a best time of 1:39.945 from 34 laps, while Romain returned to base having set a 1:39.868 from 33 laps; good enough for P8 as the last cars crossed the line.