Hamilton moves ahead in second practice

Mercedes AMG Petronas

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time during the second practice session for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps.

Hamilton’s time of 1:49.189, set on the Option tyres, was over six-tenths of a second quicker than Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Rosberg, who topped the first session on Friday morning, ran slightly wide at Malmedy on his fastest lap, although the error was not sufficient to explain Rosberg's deficit.

Fernando Alonso assumed his position as the fastest non-Mercedes driver once again as the Spaniard was third, 0.741s behind Hamilton.

Felipe Massa was fourth fastest for Williams, while Jenson Button – who led the way early on – ending in fifth place, ahead of Valtteri Bottas.

Daniil Kvyat went seventh quickest in the Toro Rosso, ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, who spent some time in the garage due to suspected brake issues following a high speed off at Les Combes.

McLaren driver Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg rounded out the top 10 in his Force India.

Jean-Éric Vergne completed the session in 11^th place, ahead of Adrian Sutil and Sergio Pérez, while Lotus’s Romain Grosjean complained about the rear end of his E22 on his way to the 14^th fastest time.

Kimi Räikkönen endured a challenging afternoon due to a reported misfire in his Ferrari F14T and consequently managed only the 15^th fastest time, with Jules Bianchi in 16^th.

Esteban Gutiérrez spun off at Blanchimont due to a gearbox problem in his Sauber C33, costing the Mexican valuable time after he sat out the first session in favour of reserve driver Giedo van der Garde. The session was stopped in order to allow marshals to recover Gutierrez's stricken Sauber.

Max Chilton was 18^th upon his return to the Marussia cockpit, while Marcus Ericsson was 19^th, a tenth of a second ahead of new Caterham team-mate Andre Lotterer.

Pastor Maldonado exited the session in dramatic fashion during the early stages as he lost control of his Lotus E22.

Maldonado ran wide at the corner preceding Pouhon and straddled the grass before his E22 spat sideways, making contact with the inside barrier. The session was halted while his car was recovered.

It proved to be a disastrous day for reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel.

The German, yet to win a race this season, was unable to take part in the second practice session due to an engine problem in his RB10, which manifested itself during the closing stages of the first session.