Sebastian Vettel beats Fernando Alonso in practice
Page last updated at 10:27 GMT, Saturday, 25 June 2011 11:27 UK
By Sarah Holt
BBC Sport
European Grand Prix
Venue: Valencia Street Circuit, Valencia Date: 24, 25 & 26 June Coverage: Qualifying 1210-1415 BBC One, 5 live, online. Sunday - race coverage 1200-1535 BBC One, 5 live, online. F1 forum 1530-1630 Red Button & online. Highlights 1900-2000 BBC Three
Vettel was quickest in Saturday morning practice, 0.420secs ahead of Alonso
World champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull returned to the top of the timings with a late run in final practice for the European Grand Prix.
Vettel beat the closest car of Fernando Alonso by almost half a second with his Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa third.
Jenson Button was a second off the pace for McLaren in fifth with his team-mate Lewis Hamilton two places further back.
Scot Paul di Resta was 13th for Force India ahead of his first qualifying session in Valencia at 1300 BST.
"Vettel is the one with the target on his back but Ferrari could well be the ones to watch in qualifying," said BBC 5 live analyst Anthony Davidson.
"They have enough to at least put pressure on Vettel and Alonso poses the biggest threat.
"The biggest question for me after practice is how much fuel McLaren were running."
Red Bull have stormed to all seven pole positions this season but the qualifying battle at the last race in Canada was much closer and team boss Christian Horner is expecting more of the same in Valencia.
"The circuit isn't too dissimilar to Montreal and it is going to be a tough challenge as Ferrari go well here and McLaren look pretty impressive," Horner told BBC Sport.
But Alonso claimed it would take "a miracle" to snatch pole from Red Bull and his Ferrari team wrote on their Twitter page during final practice: "Red Bull are favourites, as usual."
Ferrari spent the session analysing their modified front wing with Massa trying out the new two tier design and Alonso running the regular three-tier wing.
McLaren also stuck with their updated front-wing end-plates and modified rear wing as they continued to chase their first pole position for more than a year.
"McLaren have improved their DRS [overtaking aid] which means they are able to get more rear downforce to protect the rear tyres," explained BBC F1 pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz.
"It's a bit of a risk as they might give away some qualifying position - as they will have more drag than the Red Bull - but McLaren are thinking about the race."
Both McLarens ended final practice more than a second behind Vettel, leading to suggestions that they were running with more fuel on board, in particular Hamilton who was 1.483secs behind the Red Bull leader.
Red Bull's rivals are waiting to find out whether a new directive from the sport's governing body, the FIA, will also help narrow their superiority over one lap.
The FIA wrote to the teams before the European Grand Prix to explain that they will no longer be able to change their engine maps - how the engine governs the car's fuel usage - between qualifying and the race.
At the next race at Silverstone on 10 July, the use of so-called off-throttle blowing of diffusers, which help to increase downforce by blowing hot gasses over the rear of the car's floor while the driver is not pressing the accelerate, will be banned.
Valencia's street circuit presents its own challenges as the track evolves significantly over the weekend.
Alonso, Massa and Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher all struggled with the rear stability of their cars with Schumacher spinning while the Ferrari pair managed to hold their laps together.
Mark Webber, who was fourth fastest, also complained about oversteer at the rear of his Red Bull while Kamui Kobayashi locked the tyres of his Sauber on his way back to the pits.
The drivers are also getting to grips with the nuances of the medium tyres which F1 tyre supplier Pirelli have introduced for the first time this season in Valencia.
Credit: BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)
No comments:
Post a Comment