Felipe Massa leads second practice in India

2011 Indian GP second practice

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Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Buddh International Circuit, 2011

Felipe Massa put Ferrari on top in the second practice session for the Indian Grand Prix.

Massa took over at the top of the times from Sebastian Vettel, who led the way through most of the second fastest session.

The second Ferrari of Fernando Alonso was third, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber.

The session was interrupted halfway through when Jerome d’Ambrosio had a sizeable crash at turn 12.

The Virgin driver lost control of his car at the exit of turn 11 and spun into the barrier at the outside of the next corner. The right-rear of the car was heavily damaged, but D’Ambrosio was unharmed.

The session resumed after a brief interruption but the slippery track continued to catch drivers out. Turns six and seven were a particularly source of difficulty. Vitaly Petrov spun off on the way into the corner and several other drivers cut across the run-off at the second part of the turn.

Pastor Maldonado lost a lot of time when he spun into a gravel trap.

The pit lane exit caused problems for several drivers. Vettel and Adrian Sutil were among the drivers who had near-misses during the session.

Both Mercedes drivers had a quiet session, Nico Rosberg ending up 19th, Michael Schumacher 21st.

Pos.CarDriverCarBest lapGap
16Felipe MassaFerrari1’25.70633
21Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault1’25.7940.08834
35Fernando AlonsoFerrari1’25.9300.22434
43Lewis HamiltonMcLaren-Mercedes1’26.4540.74826
52Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault1’26.5000.79430
64Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes1’26.7141.00828
714Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes1’27.3161.61034
89Bruno SennaRenault1’27.4981.79236
915Paul di RestaForce India-Mercedes1’27.8532.14735
1018Sebastien BuemiToro Rosso-Ferrari1’27.8682.16235
1110Vitaly PetrovRenault1’27.8902.18437
1216Kamui KobayashiSauber-Ferrari1’28.0502.34434
1317Sergio PerezSauber-Ferrari1’28.2892.58336
1419Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso-Ferrari1’28.5522.84631
1511Rubens BarrichelloWilliams-Cosworth1’28.6912.98529
1612Pastor MaldonadoWilliams-Cosworth1’28.7083.00224
1721Jarno TrulliLotus-Renault1’29.3323.62639
1820Heikki KovalainenLotus-Renault1’30.2414.53541
198Nico RosbergMercedes1’31.0985.39238
2024Timo GlockVirgin-Cosworth1’31.4695.76332
217Michael SchumacherMercedes1’31.8046.09828
2225Jerome D’AmbrosioVirgin-Cosworth1’32.5936.88712
2323Daniel RicciardoHRT-Cosworth1’32.7687.06233
2422Narain KarthikeyanHRT-Cosworth1’32.8247.11833

2011 Indian Grand Prix

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    Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo

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    Keith Collantine
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    56 comments on “Felipe Massa leads second practice in India”

    1. who saw that one coming!?

      1. I guess no one.
        I hope for a “return of felipe” weekend after all. Maybe after turkey being dropped this could become his new lucky track.

        1. @ robin-evers Tommorow and on Sunday we will all laugh at this comment :)

      2. Massa had good pace in him on many occasions this year but never translated it into good results, so there is stuff that’d surprise me more.

        To quote some McLaren fans on here: He can take on Vettel and is a better driver in any way so I see him on pole and winning the race because Vettel can’t overtake anyway.
        (I’d really love for him to win a race but can’t see it coming at the moment sadly)

        1. Massa better than Vettel ?!? Now I’ve heard it all

          1. He quoted “Mclaren fans”, so he was joking I assume.

            1. Even Mclaren fans shouldn’t be making such ridiculous statements.

        2. Vettel cannot overtake? You sure?

          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65vTOPPDJwA

          No DRS enabled within 2 laps.

          Might want to correct what you said.

          1. I must agree that Massa is not better than Vettel. But that isnt really much of an overtake considering how fast his car was compared to the Ferrari and how slow Alonso was getting out of the corner. It takes more to call him a good overtaker than showing someone going on the outside in a far more dominant vehicle. Webber’s overtake on Alonso was far more impressive.

            1. It takes more to call him a good overtaker than showing someone going on the outside in a far more dominant vehicle. Webber’s overtake on Alonso was far more impressive.

              Tell me what Webber was driving, and what Alonso was driving, then compare to the clip shown to you…

            2. @david_a

              May sound contradictory I know, but I think Redbull’s pace on Monza was better than Spa. I had a sense that it was only a matter of time that Seb would take Alonso compared to my belief that Webber only had a slight chance. I found Vettel’s overtake in Spa more impressive than the one in Monza.

            3. hmm, fail from my part with directing that too you

          2. Well so far, I can remember Vettel making two good overtakes in his entire careeer, and one of those (at spa) against a driver on old tyres.

            The suspicion is that Vettel doesn’t make good progress in traffic, many times last year, his car didn’t brake down, he got pole by miles, either had a bad start or something else, and then he made no headway, his fight with Sutil at Siverstone being an excellent example, he just couldn’t get past and eventually crashed. However, I think he’s probably the grids current qualifying specialist, he’s gained the skill to make the crucial overtake quickly and he’s definatley got the guts to make a pass.

            Lets see what he does in a car that can’t necessarily walk to pole position, or lets see what happens if events cause him to qualify out of position. The last time this happened (Brazil) he did well, but while the two cars he where racing with (Ham and But) made numerous overtakes, he merley took the winning car up the feild via pitstops. However, I think now his titles have eased the preassure and as a result his racing has matured a lot, like Button. It’s clear out of the big four drivers on the grid, he and Button have found a way to race without preassure, Alonso and Hamilton seem to fluctuate.

            1. @scribe I would say his fight with Sutil at Silverstone last year is an excellent example of why Sutil is hot stuff!

              Anyway Vettel is the best out there. I’m perfectly happy, even if in the minority, believing that Vettel can now beat Alonso and Hamilton in equal machinery. I also believe Button is capable of this as well. In fact Vettel and Button this year are where it is at.

              anyway, glad Massa is consistently being faster than Alonso. Hope he brings this to the races now and next year. Would love a strong Massa…

            2. He was’nt on pole in Korea but was leading by the end of the 1st lap.

            3. That’s why Vettel is so good – he doesn’t qualify out of position, or end up out of position by bad starts like the other Red Bull driver.

              And citing a small amount of contact with Sutil as an example of being poor in traffic won’t wash- he passed numerous cars faster than Sutil on that day.

        1. LOOOOOOL!!! O_O Rather than “flexi-wing” I’d call it “chewy-wing”

        2. That’s not a wing, it’s a wobble board! Google Rolf Harris if you don’t believe me :P

      3. Wasn’t a Ferrari on top of one of the sessions in Korea as well? I think a lot of it is about what they are doing in the session.

        But I do think Massa is regaining ground, now that he will not have to be Alonso’s sidekick anymore this year but can just go on and do his own job.

    2. Go Felipe, Great track, Good session. I’m off to cut some laps on it…F1 2011

      1. *remembers of pre-season tests…*
        Massa looks well in testing and practice, but fails to convert that to results on Sunday.

        1. @Fixy that’s what I like- optimism ;)

    3. sid_prasher (@)
      28th October 2011, 11:12

      Great start for Ferrari…but RBR fools a lot of people till the qualifying…

      What happened to Mercedes???

      Any concerns on the legality of the Ferrari front wing?

    4. They should let the dog on the track during qualifying. Atleast one Indian will qualify within the 107% time.

      1. They should make a new rule.
        Any dog that finds its way onto the track, all drivers must stop their cars, get out, and pat it :) lol.

        But in all seriousness, how on earth they let a dog get on their in the first place?

        1. cause we have court orders for not catching the stray dogs…

          1. we dont have court orders for not catching stray dogs. :P We arent allowed to, well, send them to the farm. And dog population has just multiplied since and gone out of control. :P

    5. It was vibrating so much!And the Ferrari was also porpoising a lot under braking.

    6. A good run by Massa, good to see him on top of the time sheets.

      The front wing was flexing a bit though, or fluttering as Ant Davidson and Crofty said.

    7. Must say I did like the headline from another website:

      Hot stuff Massa(la) spices up second practice session

      1. +1 me too
        rofl..awesome quote that!

    8. Felipe baby, stay cool!

    9. Of course when I miss practice he goes fastest! :P I know practice means nothing but it’s nice to see.

      1. Better not watch the race then, give Felipe a chance ;-)

        Seriously, he is looking a lot more his own man now that the championship is over.

        1. @BasCB @Steph I actually think his beef with Hamilton has done him good. A kick up the backside perhaps?

          1. Seems to have worked for both of them then @Andrewtanner!

    10. Hmm Since the Ferrari’s new Rear Wing is ‘Fluttering’ as the 5 Live Commentators put it,Would it be deemed as illegal due to the FIA forbidding Movable Aerodynamics Devices.

      Other than that,The Ferraris’ sudden strong pace may be down to the car being light but look at the Sector times in FP2,They seem to be running more downforce than others.

      Furthermore,The Track is evolving so we didnt see RB or McLaren go out on low fuel runs the same time as the Ferraris so overall its still difficult for me to read into the Competitive state of the top 3 teams but as per usual the Bulls are always the team to beat & this weekend is no exception.

          1. if the wing could pass the deflection test it there would be no trouble for Ferrari running it

      1. Flutter is the correct term for it. The Tacoma-Narrows bridge is a famous example of a structure which failed because of “Aeroelastic Flutter”.

        I can’t see an obvious reason why Ferrari would design a wing to flutter, so can we assume that this is an accidental side effect of whatever structural deviousness they’re using to generate Flexi-Wings?

        1. ferrari chief design Nikolas Tombazis said that he new car will not be a copy of the rb7 the new car will contain some old ideas and some other ideas never seen before

    11. Really happy for Massa.

      Massa has had a tough time of it and it has been no fault of his own unlike a certain other driver.

    12. On the lighter side a dog is a good sign. In India whenever a major event is held at a new venue chances of dogs are high. Many recognise dem as strays but many a tym they are living with watchmen.
      Also dogs are the animal carrier of Hindu God of Death Yamraaj. Hence the track and its events hav his blessing and there will be no casualty of life[in a way].

      1. Thanks for the positive view on the dogs :-)

        Now that the track is blessed, let us hope we can enjoy years of great racing on it!

      2. B Senna will feel bad if he read your message.. He did punish Yamraaj’s pet

    13. It’s not April 1st today is it? Harsh joke aside, good to see Massa back at the top of something for once…

    14. massa always impress in the practice session because alonso is busy in testing and preparing the set up of the car i have no doubt that he’ll be slower than alonso in the race

      1. Yinka Babs (@)
        28th October 2011, 20:00

        massa is also good at qualifying.i’m only disturbed about his race pace

        1. Before the start of the 2010 season, I expected Massa to match Alonso on quali pace regularly. I always had the impression that Massa was the better qualifier, and Alonso the better racer. But, since last year, Massa has been severely thrashed, and I wouldn’t get my hopes up regarding anything he does.

    15. The track looks great, I hope it will be the best race of the session.

      As usual Redbulls looks strong followed by Mclarens. Ferraris showed a good pace.

      i saw alo was .437 up on second sector but just behind another car on his second last lap, i think he has been held, has any one noticed?

      but i suspect both bulls & Macs are quicker.

    16. They should put some hot chilli into the photographer eyes that crossed the fence at turn 10.

      Good job by Massa, so far I think we will have a good quali session tomorrow.

    17. Massa was using the new Ferrari DSS system. Activated by the drivers foot when less than 100 pounds of pressure is applied to the throttle. This “Driver Stimulation System” is directly linked from the throttle and the drivers seat via an old Ford coil…Massa has been warned that he is in the hotseat and they mean it literaly.

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