Rosberg stays on top in Bahrain GP practice 2

Manama, Apr. 1 (BNA): Nico Rosberg shone brightest under the stars after topping Formula 1 Practice 2 this evening at the 2016 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. After leading Practice 1 held in the early afternoon, Rosberg maintained his fine form by setting the pace with a best lap of one minute 31.001 seconds under floodlights and amidst cool temperatures. The Mercedes ace enjoyed a mark nearly half-a-second quicker than the pole time set by teammate Lewis Hamilton in last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix. The pair made it a Mercedes one-two for both practice sessions of the day. Rosberg led Hamilton by a mere 0.241 seconds in the evening, while right behind them was Jenson Button of McLaren who was 1.280s off the pace. Max Verstappen of Toro Rosso put in an impressive fourth-best lap just 1.405s behind Rosberg, while Ferrari tandem Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top six. Raikkonen finished 1.451s off the pace and Vettel was classified 1.649s behind. Daniil Kvyat of Red Bull Racing, Valtteri Bottas of Williams, Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull and Felipe Massa of Williams completed the top 10. Formula 1 action continues Saturday with a Practice 3 scheduled for a 3pm start. It will be an hour long. That will then set the stage for Qualifying, which is set to begin at 6pm.