On the medium Pirelli compound, the faster of the two being used for this
weekend, Vettel led the way with a 1:22.808sec, with Alonso hot on his
heels. Vettel’s Red
Bull team-mate Mark Webber was also in close attendance as the
36-year-old Australian was only 0.083sec off the pace.
But there is more to come because to put the times into perspective, come the
conclusion to the eight days of testing at this track in late February and
early March, Nico Rosberg in his Mercedes
was quickest with a 1min 20.130sec.
At least the teams were finally able to put the upgrade packages on their cars
– as they traditionally possess when the racing returns to Europe – through
their paces after failing to gain too many clues from the rain-hit morning
session.
With so many new parts on the McLarens,
Jenson
Button and Sergio Perez managed just six laps apiece in first
practice, in contrast to every other driver who achieved double figures. That
was primarily due to the fact with pressure sensors on the car to determine
the performance of the parts, they could not run for fear of them filling
with water and being unable to operate.
In a dry second run, Button and Perez managed 35 and 31 laps respectively as
McLaren ran through a number of programmes. But their times still made for
grim reading as Button was 12th and Perez 13th, 1.5sec and 2sec behind
Vettel.
Off the leading trio by two-tenths of a second was Kimi Raikkonen in his Lotus,
bidding to become the first man to win three times at this circuit with
different teams after previous triumphs with McLaren and Ferrari.
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was fifth quickest, followed by Lewis
Hamilton who repeated his sixth place from the morning, with the
28-year-old 0.332sec off the pace, with Rosberg seventh and 0.590sec down.
Force India duo Adrian Sutil and Paul Di Resta were eighth and 10th,
sandwiching Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne, with all three just over a second
down. Di Resta’s session, however, ended 18 minutes early as he strangely
lost the tread on his left-rear tyre coming out of the final corner.
After Pirelli’s issues with blown rubber in China where Hamilton and Massa
suffered, but with debris attributed as the cause, this latest incident was
somewhat different. After making way in first practice for reserve Rodolfo
Gonzalez, Max Chilton’s run later in the day saw him clock 26 laps in his
Marussia, but finishing four seconds adrift of Vettel at the bottom of the
timesheet.
Practice times:
1. Sebastian Vettel (GER) Red Bull 1:22.808
2. Fernando Alonso (ESP) Ferrari 1:22.825
3. Mark Webber (AUS) Red Bull 1:22.891
4. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) Lotus 1:23.030
5. Felipe Massa (BRA) Ferrari 1:23.110
6. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes 1:23.140
7. Nico Rosberg (GER) Mercedes 1:23.398
8. Adrian Sutil (GER) Force India 1:23.840
9. Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA) Toro Rosso 1:24.058
10. Paul di Resta (GBR) Force India 1:24.104
11. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) Toro Rosso 1:24.175
12. Jenson Button (GBR) McLaren 1:24.306
13. Sergio Perez (MEX) McLaren 1:24.854
14. Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Williams 1:24.888
15. Nico H|lkenberg (GER) Sauber 1:25.167
16. Pastor Maldonado (VEN) Williams 1:25.321
17. Esteban Gutierrez (MEX) Sauber 1:25.441
18. Romain Grosjean (FRA) Lotus 1:25.851
19. Giedo van der Garde (NED) Caterham 1:25.963
20. Jules Bianchi (FRA) Marussia 1:26.078
21. Charles Pic (FRA) Caterham 1:26.930
22. Max Chilton (GBR) Marussia 1:26.970
(Edited by Ben Bloom)