• Chinese Grand Prix - Free Practice 2

Assured McLaren and Mercedes in control

Martin Williamson April 16, 2010 « Button fastest as McLarens dominate | »

Lewis Hamilton recorded the fastest time of the second free practice at a hazy and chilly Shanghai International Circuit, making it a good day all round for McLaren after Jenson Button had topped the timesheets in the morning.

In both sessions the battle was between the McLarens and Mercedes, and both times Nico Rosberg split Button and Hamilton and again outpaced his team-mate Michael Schumacher.

Rosberg was the quickest in the early part of the second session until Hamilton set 1:35.217 and that remained for the rest of the afternoon. The McLarens still set the fastest times in each sector and there were some interesting tussles between Button and Hamilton who each looked better in different sectors.

While Schumacher's fourth was more than respectable, he never seriously threatened the top three - he was 0.385 seconds off Hamilton - and some of his driving looked out of sorts.

The Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber took fifth and sixth respectively, and that was as expected. Vettel made clear in the build-up to Shanghai he felt the F-duct technology, which allows the driver to control the airflow over the rear wing to cut drag and increase straight-line speed, would give McLaren and Mercedes a huge advantage on this circuit, and on the early evidence he was right.

Hamilton remained cautious. "I wouldn't say it will be easy here," he said. "The Ferraris and the Red Bulls still have good pace over a race distance and there is a lot to do. We have to qualify well and then do the job in the race and then maybe we will have something to celebrate."

It was a day to write-off for Ferrari who by its own admission struggled with little success to work out the right set-up for the conditions. Fernando Alonso - who had wrecked the remains of his Bahrain engine earlier when his first foray ended in smoke and flames after a third of a lap - and Felipe Massa were again adrift in the midfield. Alonso was clearly unhappy with events, angrily gesticulating at a hapless backmarker, but even if Ferrari were holding back, the ease with which his main rivals coped with conditions would not have helped his mood.

The morning was marked by a spectacular crash by Sebastien Buemi ten minutes before the end of the 90-minute session when his Torro Rosso suffered a sudden and catastrophic double suspension failure at around 180mph under heavy braking at the end of the straight. Both front wheels sheared off the car and he was pitched into the barrier and gravel trap at high speed. He was able to climb out of the wreckage almost immediately, shaken but unharmed. Safety officials were left to ponder how one of the car's wheels made it over the catch fencing into a spectator area.

The biggest problem for the other cars was grip, and it become increasingly common for drivers to find themselves taking to the grass. For the three newcomers the long straight exposed their lack of speed, while the tight bends highlighted handling issues. So off the pace are they, they looked to be the kind of slow-moving hazards many feared they would be at the start of the season. Only Sauber, hugely disappointing to date, finally showed signs it might be getting its act together.

It also must be said the crowd, if it can be called that, was dismal, again throwing into question the approach of the authorities to some of the races on the calendar. The venue accommodates 200,000 but there were hardly 1% of that number in attendance. "They've not promoted it properly, it's as simple as that," admitted Bernie Ecclestone. "If you were in Shanghai, you wouldn't even know there was a race here." The acid test will come on Sunday.

Martin Williamson is managing editor of digital media ESPN EMEA

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