Mercedes driver finally eclipses Lewis Hamilton in Bahrain

Nico Rosberg finally had something to cheer about on Friday as he finished fastest in second practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver has had a turbulent week in Formula One after he reignited a war of words with team-mate Lewis Hamilton following the Chinese GP last Sunday.

Rosberg claimed the Briton had held him up during the race, but the German had no such problems under the floodlights at the Sakhir circuit.

Finishing 0.115 seconds clear of championship leader and defending world champion Hamilton was a rare boost for Rosberg, who will hope to replicate the success in Saturday's qualifying.

Mercedes collected another one-two in the 90-minute session, although they did not have it all their own way as Ferrari continued to impress " Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel completing the top four.

Vettel's day ended in disappointment, though, as Force India's Sergio Perez clipped his front wing at turn one, causing a red flag and ending any momentum for the paddock.

Elsewhere, it was another frustrating session for Jenson Button " who only managed three laps in first practice - the McLaren driver encountering more problems.

FP2 classification:

1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1:34.6472. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:34.7623. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:35.1744. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 1:35.2775. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 1:35.2806. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) 1:35.4497. Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) 1:35.4748. Felipe Nasr (Sauber) 1:35.7939. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 1:35.88310. Felipe Massa (Williams) 1:35.884