Behind Webber and Raikkonen was Vettel – 0.169secs down – with the trio
comfortably clear of the rest of the field led by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso,
but with the Spaniard a further 0.2secs off the pace.
Nico Rosberg was the best of the Mercedes duo in fifth, but the German was
0.653secs adrift. Team-mate Lewis Hamilton
was down in ninth, nine tenths of a second behind Webber.
Hamilton, in particular, suffered issues with his rear tyres, at one point
complaining they were destroyed, affecting his overall pace on a circuit
where he has yet to win.
Sandwiched in between the Mercedes pair were Force India duo Adrian Sutil and
Paul Di Resta in sixth and eighth, although the former damaged a front wing
at one stage, with Felipe Massa in his Ferrari in seventh.
Romain Grosjean completed the top 10 in his Lotus, almost a second off of
Webber, whilst there appears no relief for McLaren as Jenson Button and
Sergio Perez were 11th and 13th respectively.
In a car the team admitted in Melbourne they are yet to understand given the
radical approach they have taken with its design, Button was 1.238secs down,
with Perez a further 0.6secs behind.
Williams’ Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas were 12th and 16th, with Sauber
pairing Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez 14th and 15th.
Marussia’s Max Chilton brought up the rear in 22nd, 4.578secs down – but, more
pertinently, half a second behind team-mate Jules Bianchi, who was 20th.
First practice times:
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1min 36.935secs
2 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Lotus 1:37.003
3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:37.104
4 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:37.319
5 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 1:37.588
6 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:37.769
7 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:37.771
8 Paul Di Resta (Gbr) Force India 1:37.773
9 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes 1:37.840
10 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Lotus 1:37.915
11 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:38.173
12 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams 1:38.673
13 Sergio Perez (Mex) McLaren 1:38.830
14 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Sauber 1:39.054
15 Esteban Gutierrez (Mex) Sauber 1:39.204
16 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams 1:39.208
17 Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Toro Rosso 1:39.284
18 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Toro Rosso 1:39.567
19 Giedo van der Garde (Ned) Caterham 1:40.728
20 Jules Bianchi (Fra) Marussia 1:40.996
21 Charles Pic (Fra) Caterham 1:41.16
22 Max Chilton (Gbr) Marussia 1:41.513