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“I felt very comfortable out there,” said Hamilton. “I felt I
had a good understanding of what was going on.
“While it was disappointing to not get any track time this morning, these
little hiccups are going to happen with the new cars and we’ll have to get
used to that.
“It felt like I was on the back foot from there, but then we got up to
pace quite quickly in P2 and found the balance relatively fast.
“I feel quite comfortable in the car, so overall it’s a positive start,
but we need to look at the data now and understand where we are.
“We got a nice foundation for the weekend in the second session so
hopefully we can build on that in P3 and then see where we are in qualifying.”
Although Fernando Alonso finished the first session fastest with a 1min
31.8sec lap, four seconds off the equivalent time last year, his Ferrari
team-mate Kimi Raikkonen then stopped at the end of the pit-lane attempting
to complete a practice start.
The team believe they have catching up to do, but practice gave scant
indication as to where they sit in Formula One’s new pecking order for 2014.
Williams and Force India were the only teams to suffer no discernible
reliability problems, and the former seem to be Mercedes likeliest
challengers this weekend.
Red Bull, who have been working relentlessly since the final test in Bahrain
just under two weeks ago, also showed significant improvement.
At his home race, Daniel Ricciardo was the first to complete a flying lap,
although his team-mate Sebastian Vettel did start the day with his overalls
tied round his waist on the pitwall. Vettel completed 41 laps in the second
session and ended it fourth fastest, while Ricciardo was sixth.
The reigning world champion said: “In a way it’s a relief, the fact that
we were running, we didn’t have any problems, the balance was good and the
performance looked all right.
“In the end Friday times are not worth a lot, but it’s better to be close
to the top rather than somewhere towards the back, so I’m very happy with
that.
“We will do what we can to prepare for Saturday and Sunday, but let’s see
where we are then – the most important thing is we finish.”
Meanwhile, McLaren seemed happy enough, with Jenson Button ending the first
session second fastest, but they acknowledge they lack the pace to challenge
the Williams and Mercedes.
Rather than who is at the front, practice gave a much clearer indication of
who is likely to struggle at Albert Park.
Lotus, who ended 2013 as the second fastest team, are in a particularly sorry
state. Pastor Maldonado limped back to the pits after an out-lap which saw
smoke coming into the cockpit, and an excursion into the gravel at
relatively slow speed.
His French team-mate, Romain Grosjean, completed 12 laps in the second
session, but he was four seconds off the pace.
Caterham, another Renault team, also suffered an awful day. Both rookie Marcus
Ericsson and Kamui Kobayashi did not complete a timed lap in either session.
And when a Toro Rosso was out of the garage, it was usually running across the
grass. It was a baptism of fire for 19-year-old Daniil Kvyat, who sounded
particularly anxious over the team radio.
Most drivers spent the day focussing on setup and mastering fuel economy,
which is of crucial importance this year.
Nico Rosberg, tipped as one of the favourites to embrace the new ‘thinking
formula’, was keen to be informed at every opportunity how frugally his
Mercedes was using its fuel.
As ever in Formula One, when a factor in the racing rises in importance, so
too does the politicking which surrounds it.
Luca Di Montezemolo, Ferrari’s president, warned the FIA to be “vigilant”
of any “trickery” on the teams’ part.
“Such an important set of changes to the regulations is bringing some
grey areas, for example fuel, software, consumption,” said di
Montezemolo, in an open letter to Ferrari’s fans.
“In these I am fully expecting the FIA to be vigilant – as I’m sure they
will be – to avoid any trickery, which has also taken place in the recent
past but must not happen any more for the good of this sport.”
Second practice times:
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes 1min 29.625secs
2 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 1:29.782
3 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:30.132
4 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:30.381
5 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:30.510
6 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1:30.538
7 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:30.898
8 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams 1:30.920
9 Kevin Magnussen (Den) McLaren 1:31.031
10 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Force India 1:31.054
11 Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Toro Rosso 1:31.060
12 Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams 1:31.119
13 Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1:31.283
14 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Sauber 1:32.355
15 Esteban Gutierrez (Mex) Sauber 1:32.468
16 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Toro Rosso 1:32.495
17 Jules Bianchi (Fra) Marussia 1:33.486
18 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Lotus 1:33.646
19 Max Chilton (Gbr) Marussia 1:34.757
No time:
Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Caterham, Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Caterham, Pastor
Maldonado (Ven) Lotus
F1
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