We’re not kidding… Lewis Hamilton really is fastest in 2^nd practice. Honest. It was raining at Nurburgring this afternoon, and we all know what a specialist Hamilton is in the wet. It’s also a home race for the Mercedes side of the McLaren team, so they’ll be pleased with that performance. But we’re not stupid. Hamilton’s team-mate, Kovalainen, is way down in 17^th place for this session so Hamilton’s stellar result is very unlikely to be reflective of his race pace. Which is a real shame as he’s a pleasure to watch when he’s fighting for the win.

Force India continued their good form from practice session 1. But this time it was Sutil’s turn to show what he’s made of. Fisichella took a spin at turn 11, lost the rear end, slid across the grass into a wall, and, well, that was his practice session over. But Sutil put in the 6^th fastest time on the board. Not only that, but his time was barely a few tenths off the pace of the top 5. And let’s not forget that Sutil is also German, and a good result here at the Nurburgring would obviously be fantastic for him.

From a quick overview of the two practice sessions today the strongest contenders, unsurprisingly, look to be Vettel, Webber and Button. After a frustrating 1^st session, Vettel outperformed his team-mate Webber to be 2^nd fastest in P2. Webber was fastest in P1, and 4^th fastest in P2. ‘Our Jense’ was 2nd fastest in P1, and 3^rd fastest in P2. The drivers who are consistently near the top in practice are usually the best bets for qualifying, and the race of course.

We were sceptical about the Ferrari’s pace in 1^st practice, and they indeed seemed to fade away during the afternoon session. One thing is very clear, however, and that’s the fact that Massa is better than the lacklustre Raikkonen. The reasons for this are unclear. It’s been reported that Raikkonen has been allowed by Ferrari to compete in the World Rally Championship, which is pretty risky considering the potential for crashes and injury. Not only that, but how can a driver be fully committed to Formula 1, a very demanding sport, as well as race competitively in another series? And if you throw into the mix all the Alonso/Ferrari/2010 rumours which refuse to die down, then you end up with a big question mark hanging over the head of the Finn.

Renault improved on their 1^st practice results, but they do have a tendency to run light on fuel. Right at the end of the session it looked as though Nelson had ‘done a Piquet’ and spun out yet again. But we are always too quick to judge. Apparently it was an electrical fault. Apparently. A quick word on the TV coverage: if you were watching the practice session on TV or online, you will have seen the new line comparisons feature. Basically they overlap the drivers on their laps to compare the lines they each take. Fascinating and incredible to watch. Fingers crossed we’ll see it for the race as it’s a brilliant addition to the grand prix viewing experience.

Weather update: rain tomorrow during qualifying, and rain again on Sunday for the race. Bernie will be pleased. He loves a good old wet race to liven things up a bit. The temperatures are also looking low, which works in the favour of the Red Bulls. Along with Hamilton, Vettel is one of the best drivers in wet conditions, as was proved by his first ever Formula 1 win at Monza last year. It’s going to be wet at Nurburgring, but will it be a Wettel win again?