Friday, March 14, 2008
# posted by Rich @ 1:22 AM
2008 Formula 1 ING Australian Grand Prix: Friday Practice 1
The first session of the new season is in the books, and Kimi Raikkonen started where he left off in 2007: fastest in Prac 1, with a time of 1:27.461, set in the dying seconds of the session. Last year's rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton was second fastest, 0.487 s slower than the world champion, with the other Ferrari of Felipe Massa a further 0.010 s back in third, and Heikki Kovalainen was fourth in the other McLaren with a time of 1:27.114. So, the Ferraris and the McLarens were top of the timesheet. No surprises there then, but it is still only the first practice session.
Behind the leading quartet, local hero Mark Webber posted the 5th fastest time in the all-new Red Bull, whilst teammate David Coulthard could manage no better than 13th, after having suffered a mechanical problem (transmission or engine) that necessitated a trip to the pits and a healthy dose of fire extinguishant. Fernando Alonso was 6th fastest in the new Renault, with teammate Nelson Piquet Jr some 2 seconds slower. Piquet was somewhat hampered by a spin and stall at turn 14, which precipitated a brief red flag to allow his stricken car to be cleared.
7th and 8th places were occupied by Robert Kubica and Timo Glock respectively, but perhaps the best performer of the session was Sebastian Vettel, who posted the 9th fastest time (1:27.959), despite an early problem with the fuel filler flap being stuck open. The young German was some 4 tenths faster than Rookie Sebastien Bourdais, who maximised his running presumably to further familiarise himself with both the car and the circuit. He would end up 14th fastest.
Another surprise was Giancarlo Fisichella - 12th fastest with a 1:29.230, significantly outpacing his teammate Adrian Sutil by around 9 tenths of a second. However, as with all the inter-team differences, different tyres and fuel loads may have been employed.
The tail-enders were the two Super-Aguri Hondas (19th and 20th places), who waited until there was only 9 minutes of the session remaining to set a fast lap. Behind them were the two Williams cars - Kazuki Nakajima set a woeful time of 1:35.053, and teammate Rosberg failed to set a time after what looked like mechanical or electrical issues in his Williams Toyota.
So far the loss of traction control does not seem to have affected the cars too much - there were a few squirrelly moments, but nothing major. There were a couple of offs at the turn 9 chicane, notably by Fernando Alonso; a couple of people got loose at the rear end and put wheels on the grass, including Kimi Raikkonen; and Piquet had his spin. The track was also very dusty and green, so grip levels were not ideal. As the track cleaned up and more rubber went down, the lap times tumbled. Sebastien Bourdais was the first driver to do a hot lap in the session (and therefore in the 2008 season), and he posted a time of 1:33.900. His ultimate time was over 4.5 seconds quicker.
So, the first session of the 2008 season is over. It is always difficult to tell what will happen during the rest of the weekend at this early stage - we might have a better idea after Prac 2 - but it looks like the Ferraris and the McLarens are again the cars to beat.
P1 Statistics
Fastest lap: Kimi Raikkonen (1:26.461)
Fastest Sector 1: Kimi Raikkonen (28.4)
Fastest Sector 2: Kimi Raikkonen (23.3)
Fastest Sector 3: Kimi Raikkonen (34.7)
Average lap time (excluding drivers who set no time): 1:29.241
Standard deviation of lap time: 1.883 s
Smallest interval: P2 - P3: 0.010 s
Largest interval: P20 - P21: 3.283s (of note: P4 - P5 1.149 s, demonstrating the speed of the top 4)
Time difference fastest - slowest: 8.592 s
2007 P1 Fastest lap: Fernando Alonso (1:29.214)
2007 - 2008 difference: -2.753 s
Boy that's a lot of work. I'm not sure I'm going to do that for all the sessions!
Behind the leading quartet, local hero Mark Webber posted the 5th fastest time in the all-new Red Bull, whilst teammate David Coulthard could manage no better than 13th, after having suffered a mechanical problem (transmission or engine) that necessitated a trip to the pits and a healthy dose of fire extinguishant. Fernando Alonso was 6th fastest in the new Renault, with teammate Nelson Piquet Jr some 2 seconds slower. Piquet was somewhat hampered by a spin and stall at turn 14, which precipitated a brief red flag to allow his stricken car to be cleared.
7th and 8th places were occupied by Robert Kubica and Timo Glock respectively, but perhaps the best performer of the session was Sebastian Vettel, who posted the 9th fastest time (1:27.959), despite an early problem with the fuel filler flap being stuck open. The young German was some 4 tenths faster than Rookie Sebastien Bourdais, who maximised his running presumably to further familiarise himself with both the car and the circuit. He would end up 14th fastest.
Another surprise was Giancarlo Fisichella - 12th fastest with a 1:29.230, significantly outpacing his teammate Adrian Sutil by around 9 tenths of a second. However, as with all the inter-team differences, different tyres and fuel loads may have been employed.
The tail-enders were the two Super-Aguri Hondas (19th and 20th places), who waited until there was only 9 minutes of the session remaining to set a fast lap. Behind them were the two Williams cars - Kazuki Nakajima set a woeful time of 1:35.053, and teammate Rosberg failed to set a time after what looked like mechanical or electrical issues in his Williams Toyota.
So far the loss of traction control does not seem to have affected the cars too much - there were a few squirrelly moments, but nothing major. There were a couple of offs at the turn 9 chicane, notably by Fernando Alonso; a couple of people got loose at the rear end and put wheels on the grass, including Kimi Raikkonen; and Piquet had his spin. The track was also very dusty and green, so grip levels were not ideal. As the track cleaned up and more rubber went down, the lap times tumbled. Sebastien Bourdais was the first driver to do a hot lap in the session (and therefore in the 2008 season), and he posted a time of 1:33.900. His ultimate time was over 4.5 seconds quicker.
So, the first session of the 2008 season is over. It is always difficult to tell what will happen during the rest of the weekend at this early stage - we might have a better idea after Prac 2 - but it looks like the Ferraris and the McLarens are again the cars to beat.
P1 Statistics
Fastest lap: Kimi Raikkonen (1:26.461)
Fastest Sector 1: Kimi Raikkonen (28.4)
Fastest Sector 2: Kimi Raikkonen (23.3)
Fastest Sector 3: Kimi Raikkonen (34.7)
Average lap time (excluding drivers who set no time): 1:29.241
Standard deviation of lap time: 1.883 s
Smallest interval: P2 - P3: 0.010 s
Largest interval: P20 - P21: 3.283s (of note: P4 - P5 1.149 s, demonstrating the speed of the top 4)
Time difference fastest - slowest: 8.592 s
2007 P1 Fastest lap: Fernando Alonso (1:29.214)
2007 - 2008 difference: -2.753 s
Boy that's a lot of work. I'm not sure I'm going to do that for all the sessions!
Labels: Australia, Formula 1, Grand Prix
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