Rosberg focuses on race pace

Nico Rosberg's best time in FP2 was 4.4s off the pace © Getty Images

Enlarge

Nico Rosberg said that he was focusing on race pace after setting the 15th quickest time in second practice for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Rosberg's position was notable by the gap of 2.4 seconds to his team-mate Michael Schumacher who was up in sixth place in the second session following delays in the first. Rosberg said that the information gained in FP2 would be what Mercedes will work with as he seeks to find more pace on Saturday.

"It was difficult to learn a lot in the first practice session this evening due to the interruptions," Rosberg said. "However in the second session this evening, we were able to work through a lot of set-up changes and learn a lot about the car. I was on higher fuel levels to help our understanding of how to prepare the car for the race. It wasn't a perfect day but a decent day for me and hopefully we can make further progress tomorrow."

Team principal Ross Brawn said that the team took the approach because looking after the tyres throughout the grand prix would be crucial.

"The Marina Bay Circuit is an extremely challenging track to find a balance which will look after the tyres during a demanding race situation," Brawn said. "Therefore all our work today focused on race preparation and this confirmed how challenging the race will be. The critical element will be the longevity of the tyres and understanding how to work them to the maximum for as long as possible. We made good progress during the sessions and have a lot of information to work with tonight."

ESPNF1