Mark Webber maintained Red Bull’s dominance at Silverstone by topping the second free practice session.
The Australian was untouched at the top of the time sheets with a lap time of 1:31.234 – nearly four tenths of a second faster than Fernando Alonso; who appeared to find pace after a difficult morning session for Ferrari.
Sebastian Vettel underlined Red Bull’s pace in third, with Felipe Massa making full use of Ferrari’s decision to use its f-duct system in fourth.
With searing temperatures around the Northamptonshire circuit, drivers got their first taste of the soft compound and began to improve on their morning efforts.
However, as the wind had a considerable influence on track conditions, the majority of drivers appeared content to focus on their race pace, with very few fast laps set throughout the session. This appeared to be the case for the McLaren duo of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, who found themselves well down the order.
Although Button was relatively quiet, Hamilton continued to push hard and was again caught out by the slippery surface and the various bumps. However, as in the first session, the 25-year-old was not alone, with the likes of Felipe Massa spinning at The loop corner.
Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher were fifth and sixth for Mercedes, with Vitaly Petrov continuing to show promise for Renault in seventh.
Lotus once again endured a frustrating session, with Jarno Trulli completing only three laps after a gearbox problem and Heikki Kovalainen’s car suffering a power steering failure.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:31.234 15 2. Alonso Ferrari 1:31.626 + 0.392 26 3. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:31.875 + 0.641 24 4. Massa Ferrari 1:32.099 + 0.865 25 5. Rosberg Mercedes 1:32.166 + 0.932 29 6. Schumacher Mercedes 1:32.660 + 1.426 27 7. Petrov Renault 1:32.745 + 1.511 28 8. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:32.757 + 1.523 22 9. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:32.787 + 1.553 27 10. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:32.967 + 1.733 32 11. Kubica Renault 1:33.019 + 1.785 30 12. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:33.164 + 1.930 28 13. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:33.200 + 1.966 24 14. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:33.402 + 2.168 23 15. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:33.728 + 2.494 27 16. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:33.836 + 2.602 36 17. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:34.051 + 2.817 29 18. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:34.643 + 3.409 36 19. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:35.465 + 4.231 25 20. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:36.237 + 5.003 24 21. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:36.553 + 5.319 21 22. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1:37.019 + 5.785 27 23. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:38.303 + 7.069 32 24. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:42.901 + 11.667 3
