Australian GP: Free Practice 1 – Red Bulls Already Ahead
Red Bull wasted no time in giving its first performances by dominating the first practice session of the season in Melbourne.
It was Karun Chandhok who kicked off the session at the wheel of the Lotus T128, which he will occasionally drive on Fridays. The Indian driver didn’t last long on the track, losing control of his car on his first lap and crashing into the wall.
After a brief red flag, the other drivers truly started the session by familiarizing themselves with the Albert Park circuit in their new cars, some of which feature numerous updates since the last winter tests.
Pastor Maldonado, the Williams rookie, is the first to record a time of 1:31.381 before Felipe Massa sets the mark at 1:29.572, while Lewis Hamilton, whose McLaren sports new exhausts inspired by Red Bull’s, takes second place.
Mark Webber improves the time of the Brazilian, then it’s Lewis Hamilton’s turn before the Australian driver lines up three fast sectors to take the lead again at the end of a 7-lap stint.
Jenson Button takes the second-fastest time before conceding to the reigning world champion, who quickly tops the timesheet with a lap of 1:27.869.
Twenty minutes before the end of the session, the Red Bull drivers hold the two best times, ahead of Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Rubens Barrichello, Felipe Massa, Nico Rosberg, Michael Schumacher, Sergio Perez, and Sebastien Buemi.
Fernando Alonso then makes his appearance in the Top 10, trailing a little over three-tenths behind Sebastian Vettel. Second, the Spaniard is ahead of Nico Rosberg, while the Japanese driver, Kamui Kobayashi, secures the 8th time.
At the very end of the session, Mark Webber retook the top spot by completing a lap of the Albert Park circuit in 1:26.831. This time remained the benchmark, three-tenths ahead of Vettel, who was in 2nd, but most notably almost a second ahead of his first rival, Fernando Alonso, in 3rd. Rosberg, Barrichello, Button, Hamilton, Schumacher, Kobayashi, and Petrov rounded out the Top 10.
Last in the standings, the HRT drivers did not record any timed laps.
Here is the ranking from the first practice session in Melbourne:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
|
1
|
Vettel | Red Bull | 1:26.831 |
20
|
|
|
2
|
Webber | Red Bull | 1:27.158 | +0.327 |
19
|
|
3
|
Alonso | Ferrari | 1:27.749 | +0.918 |
20
|
|
4
|
Rosberg | Mercedes GP | 1:28.152 | +1.321 |
16
|
|
5
|
Barrichello | Williams | 1:28.430 | +1.599 |
24
|
|
6
|
Button | McLaren | 1:28.440 | +1.609 |
29
|
|
7
|
Hamilton | McLaren | 1:28.483 | +1.652 |
26
|
|
8
|
Schumacher | Mercedes GP | 1:28.690 | +1.859 |
14
|
|
9
|
Kobayashi | BMW-Sauber | 1:28.725 | +1.894 |
13
|
|
10
|
Petrov | Lotus Renault GP | 1:28.765 | +1.934 |
15
|
|
11
|
Massa | Ferrari | 1:28.842 | +2.011 |
20
|
|
12
|
Heidfeld | Lotus Renault GP | 1:28.928 | +2.097 |
14
|
|
13
|
Sutil | Force India | 1:29.314 | +2.483 |
19
|
|
14
|
Buemi | Toro Rosso | 1:29.328 | +2.497 |
21
|
|
15
|
Maldonado | Williams | 1:29.403 | +2.572 |
24
|
|
16
|
Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:29.468 | +2.637 |
23
|
|
17
|
Perez | BMW-Sauber | 1:29.643 | +2.812 |
18
|
|
18
|
Hülkenberg | Force India | 1:31.002 | +4.171 |
20
|
|
19
|
Kovalainen | Lotus | 1:32.428 | +5.597 |
13
|
|
20
|
D’Ambrosio | Virgin | 1:35.282 | +8.451 |
17
|
|
21
|
Glock | Virgin | 1:35.289 | +8.458 |
15
|
|
22
|
Chandhok | Lotus | — |
1
|
|
|
23
|
Karthikeyan | Hispania Racing Team | — |
0
|
|
|
24
|
Liuzzi | Hispania Racing Team | — |
0
|
