Nico Rosberg appears intent on proving that last weekend's result in China can be repeated — maybe as early as this weekend.
Rosberg, who ran away with the Chinese GP en route to his first career win in 111 Grand Prix starts, was stout once again at Bahrain International Circuit on Friday.
The German topped the time sheet in Free Practice Two, posting a quick lap of 1:32:816 that eclipsed Lewis Hamilton's leading time of 1:33:572 from Friday's earlier practice.
Following Rosberg's Mercedes in FP2 were the resurgent Red Bulls of Mark Webber (1:33:262) and
Sebastian Vettel (1:33:525), but Webber's second-place RB8 was more than four tenths off Rosberg's pace-setting time.
Hamilton, who on Saturday will be seeking his third pole of 2012, clocked in fourth at 1:33:747 as the Mercedes of Michael Schumacher completed the top five.
Positions six through 10 in FP2 belonged to Jenson Button, Kamui Kobayashi, Fernando Alonso, Romain Grosjean and Sergio Perez.
Force India drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Paul Di Resta did not participate in FP2, opting to leave the track early to avoid potential danger after four team members were involved in an incident Wednesday night that saw a firebomb land near their vehicle. Two team members have subsequently returned home.
Three different winners have tasted victory in the season's first three events as Button (Australia), Alonso (Malaysia) and Rosberg (China) have each broken through.
Hamilton is the World Championship leader, holding a two-point edge over teammate Button and an eight-point cushion over third-place Alonso.
While matters have been eventful off the track since teams began arriving in Bahrain on Wednesday, both of Friday's 90-minute practices were fairly tame as no major incidents occurred.
Free Practice Two concludes Friday's on-track activities in Bahrain.
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