Nico Rosberg set the fastest time of FP2 for the Spanish Grand Prix, leading Kimi Raikkonen by a quarter of a second.
With Ferrari having set the pace in the first practice session but been the only team to run the soft compound tyre, a more representative comparison was possible on Friday afternoon as all the teams used the softs in FP2. Rosberg's lap of 1:23.922 was just 0.029s faster than Sebastian Vettel managed in the first session, but on this occasion left him 0.254s clear of Raikkonen.
Ferrari had a somewhat disjointed session, with Raikkonen having his running interrupted by a fuel system issue, while Vettel failed to set a clean lap on the soft tyre and was a second off the pace.
Similar to Vettel, Lewis Hamilton had a scruffy lap on the soft compound tyre - running slightly wide at Turn 7 and losing time - which left him 0.7s slower than his team-mate in third place. Hamilton has an improved turbo and MGU-H design this weekend but was struggling with set-up earlier in the session.
Carlos Sainz ended FP2 fifth quickest and ahead of both Red Bull drivers having been overlooked in the week when Max Verstappen was promoted to replace Daniil Kvyat. Sainz was 1.2s off Rosberg's best time but 0.061s ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, with Fernando Alonso seventh ahead of Verstappen and the two Force Indias.
The session was halted for ten minutes early on after Jolyon Palmer suffered a puncture at high speed. The Renault driver was just reaching the braking zone for Turn 1 when his left rear tyre blew, with the rookie doing well to control the car and stop in the run-off area. The red flag was brought out while the car and debris was cleared, with Palmer able to rejoin later on.
With Alonso in seventh and Jenson Button in 12th, McLaren showed pace which suggests it will be close to a spot in Q3 on Saturday, though the Williams pair of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa - 11th and 16th respectively - still have more to show.
Haas endured another frustrating session, with Romain Grosjean complaining the car was "very, very difficult to drive" while Esteban Gutierrez was 21st and completed only nine laps due to an electronics issue.
AS IT HAPPENED: Spanish Grand Prix - FP2
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Chris Medland's 2016 Spanish Grand Prix preview
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| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:23.922 | 35 |
| 02 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:24.176 | 31 |
| 03 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:24.641 | 27 |
| 04 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:25.017 | 35 |
| 05 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:25.131 | 39 |
| 06 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:25.194 | 37 |
| 07 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:25.342 | 31 |
| 08 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:25.375 | 31 |
| 09 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:25.437 | 32 |
| 10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:25.453 | 35 |
| 11 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:25.708 | 30 |
| 12 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:25.893 | 20 |
| 13 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:25.899 | 33 |
| 14 | Kevin Magnussen | Renault | 1:26.244 | 40 |
| 15 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:26.375 | 44 |
| 16 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:26.491 | 36 |
| 17 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:26.770 | 16 |
| 18 | Pascal Wehrlein | Manor | 1:26.960 | 40 |
| 19 | Rio Haryanto | Manor | 1:27.252 | 39 |
| 20 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:27.812 | 40 |
| 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Haas | 1:28.205 | 9 |
| 22 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:28.501 | 42 |
