UpdateF1 >> Formula 1 News > Friday Practice: Williams dominate

Diffuser row to escalate

The 2009 Formula One season kicked off in Melbourne in spectacular fashion as the new looking cars took to the circuits for the first time. With smaller rear wings and bigger front wings, the new cars completed laps with times very similar to the cars of the previous year even with the massive changes to engines and aerodynamics.

The only rookie driver in the field, Sebastien Buemi, set the first lap time of the season after around 20 minutes of silence on track as teams assessed the grip level of a very green Albert Park circuit. Once the real action got underway in the first session teams started sending out their runners for flying laps. Felipe Massa was out early in his Ferrari; however his lap was ruined by too much rear brake as he locked up going into turn 15. Many other drivers decided that the grass was the best route in the first corner as they struggled to pull the cars up at the end of the straight.

Sebastian Vettel, who changed Red Bull outfits over the summer, had a nightmare of a first session as he was forced to leave early after losing hydraulic pressure in his Renault powered Red Bull Racing entry. Team mate Mark Webber was also rarely seen on track after also suffering some reliability problems, while Nelson Piquet picked up where he left last year, spinning his Renault through the grass.

Brawn GP started their first ever campaign setting fast lap times early on the harder compound of tyres showing that their testing performances were no fluke. The other fancied runner through testing, Williams-Toyota, also impressed setting the fastest times late on in the first session.

The second session started in the twilight of the day as drivers prepare for the first every twilight race this weekend. The start of the session was action packed as most drivers came out having a crack at times from the beginning, as well as going through their regular testing programmes. Toyota and Timo Glock set the early running on the softer compound tyres before team mate Jarno Trulli pipped him. Not long later Nico Rosberg flew around the Albert Park circuit on the softer compound to take the top time.

Nico sat on top of the time sheets for the rest of the session as Rubens Barrichello in the Brawn-Mercedes car came close to taking the top time late in the session. Mark Webber at his home Grand Prix had a mixed session that included finishing fourth, but also included brake and exhaust problems that limited his lap running. His team mate Vettel also had limited running for the second session in a row after he spun out in turn three. It looked inevitable after coming close on two previous occasions to spinning and third time lucky saw him stall the engine with the car having to be removed via a tractor.

Only supreme driving skill saw Felipe Massa last longer than an hour in the session as he gave Michael Schumacher a heart attack on pit wall. Coming through turn 14 the back of the Ferrari stepped out on Massa and sent the front spearing towards the wall, but the Brazilian was good enough to keep it on the tarmac and complete the lap. Last years title rival Lewis Hamilton and team mate Heikki Kovalainen had a terrible day for McLaren as both languished at the bottom of the time sheet for practice two. Hamilton late on in the session was complaining of an inability to see braking zones and will have to adjust that problem by tomorrow as Qualifying takes place at the same point of the day.
So after the first day of the new seasons some conclusions can be drawn into practice, with McLaren, Toro Rosso, BMW, Renault and Ferrari struggling for grip and pace throughout both sessions. However the starker conclusion will be that of the three teams protested against yesterday. They are the top three cars on the time sheets at the moment and speculation will intensify as to the legality of the diffusers found on these cars. Even still that won’t take the shine off what has been an enthralling day of practice in Melbourne, with new teams up the front of the pack life has been breathed into Formula One and hopefully more crowds will be drawn to a more competitive brand of racing.

Written: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 07:19:18