Raikkonen beats Ocon as Silverstone F1 test ends
Kimi Raikkonen concluded the second day of Formula 1's in-season Silverstone test fastest, as the Finn ousted Mercedes driver Esteban Ocon from the top spot late in the afternoon session.
Photo by: XPB Images
Raikkonen's best time of 1m30.665s - about half a second quicker than Fernando Alonso's benchmark from Wednesday - came with 50 minutes of the session to run on soft tyres, and put the Ferrari driver 0.547s up on Ocon.
The Frenchman led the way in the morning, and with the arrival of rain shortly after the start of the afternoon session, it seemed the Mercedes development driver would remain on top for the duration.
But, after 90 minutes had elapsed, the track had become dry enough for drivers to improve their times, with Raikkonen closing to within just over half a second of Ocon shortly after with a 1m32.095s.
In the third hour, the 2007 champion fell just 0.043s short of Ocon's best time with a 1m31.255s, before finally ousting the 19-year-old at the start of the final hour.
Ocon, however, once again topped the lap count, having done so during his first day in the Mercedes on Tuesday, racking up 139 tours of the Silverstone track.
Red Bull's Pierre Gasly vaulted to third in the closing moments of the session, setting a 1m31.429s to go within 0.764s of Raikkonen, bumping Nikita Mazepin in the Force India down to fourth.
The Russian driver was the only other to get within a second of the pace, ending up 0.896s slower than Raikkonen and 0.203s up on McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne in fifth.
Williams driver Valtteri Bottas, who was equipped with the team's double-decker rear wing again in the final hour of the session, was sixth quickest.
Santino Ferrucci (Haas) ended his second day of F1 running seventh fastest, with Jolyon Palmer (Renault), Toro Rosso newcomer Sergio Sette Camara and Jordan King (Manor) completing the top 10.
Propping up the timesheets was Pascal Wehrlein in the 2014-spec Mercedes using prototype Pirelli tyres, some 5.517s off the pace.
The German, however, was second only to Ocon in the mileage stakes however, completing 128 laps. Also exceeding the 100-lap mark were Vandoorne (114), Ferrucci (107), Raikkonen (103) and Gasly (103). King completed the fewest laps on 70.
Day 2 times:
Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:30.665 | |
2 | Esteban Ocon | Mercedes | 1:31.212 | 0.547 |
3 | Pierre Gasly | Red Bull | 1:31.429 | 0.764 |
4 | Nikita Mazepin | Force India | 1:31.561 | 0.896 |
5 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 1:31.764 | 1.099 |
6 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:32.423 | 1.758 |
7 | Santino Ferrucci | Haas | 1:33.141 | 2.476 |
8 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:33.308 | 2.643 |
9 | Sergio Sette Camara | Toro Rosso | 1:34.040 | 3.375 |
10 | Jordan King | Manor | 1:35.060 | 4.359 |
11 | Pascal Wehrlein | Mercedes | 1:36.182 | 5.517 |
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