FP2: Red Bull 1-2 as Mercedes hit trouble

© Red Bull Racing, Getty Images

Sebastian Vettel once again topped the times to remain fastest in Melbourne - proving the Red Bull RB9 has lost none of its speed.

The German headed his team-mate Mark Webber by over a quarter of a second to hand Red Bull a practice 1-2 on Friday.

Nico Rosberg emerged as third fastest, but it wasn't a great session for Mercedes as both cars stopped with problems in the closing stages of the session.

It was unfortunate for Lewis Hamilton who looked likely to challenge Vettel's fastest lap, before he ran wide and then subsequently stopped a lap later reporting a problem.

It's believed Rosberg's problem centers around the gearbox.

The Lotus duo popped up in fourth and fifth quickest ahead of Fernando Alonso who was near to a second slower than Vettel.

Further down the grid and it's McLaren who look to be struggling. Jenson Button could only manage 11th, over two seconds down, whilst Sergio Perez was a further half second behind in 13th.

Giedo van der Garde brought up the rear once again, after he ended his session early with a spin.

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