Friday analysis - what do Red Bull have in reserve?
The first day of Abu Dhabi practice saw the four title contenders to the fore, as everybody worked on setting their cars up and getting the best out of Bridgestone’s medium and super-soft tyres for the last time. Hamilton was quickest in what he felt was a much improved McLaren, but Vettel insisted there is more to come from Red Bull. We take a team-by-team look at Friday at Yas Marina…
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, 1m 43.369s, P2/1m 40.888s, P1
Jenson Button, 1m 43.785s, P3/1m 42.132s, P8
Hamilton was very happy with is MP4-25’s performance and said that they had finally started to optimise the new rear wing that has been troublesome of late. Button, by contrast, was very unhappy with his car’s grip and balance in the afternoon and said it was extremely unpredictable.
Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel, 1m 42.760s, P1/1m 41.145s, P2
Mark Webber, 1m 43.840s, P4/1m 41.315s, P4
Vettel said he was quite content, and that there is still some lap time to come from the RB6. Webber changed engines between sessions, having deliberately kept the overheating Brazilian motor in this morning for comparison tests.
Ferrari
Fernando Alonso, 1m 44.121s, P6/1m 41.314s, P3
Felipe Massa, 1m 45.160s, P11/1m 41.583s, P6
Alonso said his weekend had got off to a good start with plenty of data gathering, and that he expects qualifying to be very tight. Massa was relatively happy with progress until his F10 stopped on the track with a fuel injection problem.
Renault
Robert Kubica, 1m 44.080s, P5/1m 41.576s, P5
Vitaly Petrov, 1m 45.445s, P12/1m 42.096s, P7
Kubica reported high tyre degradation and said finding a good balance was tricky, as he ran into oversteer as the tyres went off. Petrov said changes improved his car significantly for the second session.
Force India
Tonio Liuzzi, 1m 45.585s, P15/1m 42.203s, P9
Adrian Sutil, 1m 45.552s, P14/1m 42.535s, P13
Liuzzi was delighted to be driving the team’s crash-test chassis after his shunt in Brazil, which was due to a broken front suspension rocker. He said the car felt really well balanced and consistent, and it showed. Sutil reported a problem with the brakes pulling to one side.
Mercedes GP
Nico Rosberg, 1m 44.718s, P9/1m 42.222s, P10
Michael Schumacher, 1m 44.199s, P7/1m 42.246s, P11
Both drivers had fruitful days and reported making progress, but Rosberg said his F-duct wasn’t working properly.
Williams
Rubens Barrichello, 1m 45.474s, P13/1m 42.914s, P15
Nico Hulkenberg, 1m 46.644s, P17/1m 42.449s, P12
Barrichello had set-up problems and said there was plenty of work to be done. Hulkenberg was happier with his FW32 in the afternoon after changes had enhanced its balance.
BMW Sauber
Kamui Kobayashi, 1m 44.604s, P8/1m 42.768s, P14
Nick Heidfeld, 1m 44.737s, P10/1m 42.950s, P16
Kobayashi was happy initially but then began to struggle. Heidfeld wasn’t satisfied with his C29’s balance.
Toro Rosso
Jaime Alguersuari 1m 46.003s, P16/1m 43.128s, P17
Sebastien Buemi, 1m 47.105s, P18/1m 43.584s, P18
Alguersuari said he was quite happy up until the point that he pushed too hard, spun and stalled. Buemi said he didn’t get the best from the super soft tyres as he spun in Turn 16.
Lotus
Heikki Kovalainen (evening only), 1m 45.180s, P19
Jarno Trulli, 1m 48.472s, P20/ 1m 45.612s, P21
Fairuz Fauzy (afternoon only), 1m 51.705s, P24
No problems for either driver, and both were happy to find the T127 quite well suited to the Yas Marina Circuit.
Virgin
Timo Glock, 1m 48.450s, P19/ 1m 45.259s, P20
Lucas di Grassi 1m 49.375s, P21/ 1m 46.053s, P22
Glock reported straightforward sessions and said he was happy with his VR-01. Di Grassi welcomed two sessions for a change and said he’d had a very good day on his first acquaintance with the track.
HRT
Christian Klien 1m 50.274s, P23/ 1m 47.210s, P23
Bruno Senna, 1m 49.590s, P22/ 1m 47.434s, P24
No problems for either driver as they focused on learning the circuit and working on their set-ups.
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, 1m 43.369s, P2/1m 40.888s, P1
Jenson Button, 1m 43.785s, P3/1m 42.132s, P8
Hamilton was very happy with is MP4-25’s performance and said that they had finally started to optimise the new rear wing that has been troublesome of late. Button, by contrast, was very unhappy with his car’s grip and balance in the afternoon and said it was extremely unpredictable.
Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel, 1m 42.760s, P1/1m 41.145s, P2
Mark Webber, 1m 43.840s, P4/1m 41.315s, P4
Vettel said he was quite content, and that there is still some lap time to come from the RB6. Webber changed engines between sessions, having deliberately kept the overheating Brazilian motor in this morning for comparison tests.
Ferrari
Fernando Alonso, 1m 44.121s, P6/1m 41.314s, P3
Felipe Massa, 1m 45.160s, P11/1m 41.583s, P6
Alonso said his weekend had got off to a good start with plenty of data gathering, and that he expects qualifying to be very tight. Massa was relatively happy with progress until his F10 stopped on the track with a fuel injection problem.
Renault
Robert Kubica, 1m 44.080s, P5/1m 41.576s, P5
Vitaly Petrov, 1m 45.445s, P12/1m 42.096s, P7
Kubica reported high tyre degradation and said finding a good balance was tricky, as he ran into oversteer as the tyres went off. Petrov said changes improved his car significantly for the second session.
Force India
Tonio Liuzzi, 1m 45.585s, P15/1m 42.203s, P9
Adrian Sutil, 1m 45.552s, P14/1m 42.535s, P13
Liuzzi was delighted to be driving the team’s crash-test chassis after his shunt in Brazil, which was due to a broken front suspension rocker. He said the car felt really well balanced and consistent, and it showed. Sutil reported a problem with the brakes pulling to one side.
Mercedes GP
Nico Rosberg, 1m 44.718s, P9/1m 42.222s, P10
Michael Schumacher, 1m 44.199s, P7/1m 42.246s, P11
Both drivers had fruitful days and reported making progress, but Rosberg said his F-duct wasn’t working properly.
Williams
Rubens Barrichello, 1m 45.474s, P13/1m 42.914s, P15
Nico Hulkenberg, 1m 46.644s, P17/1m 42.449s, P12
Barrichello had set-up problems and said there was plenty of work to be done. Hulkenberg was happier with his FW32 in the afternoon after changes had enhanced its balance.
BMW Sauber
Kamui Kobayashi, 1m 44.604s, P8/1m 42.768s, P14
Nick Heidfeld, 1m 44.737s, P10/1m 42.950s, P16
Kobayashi was happy initially but then began to struggle. Heidfeld wasn’t satisfied with his C29’s balance.
Toro Rosso
Jaime Alguersuari 1m 46.003s, P16/1m 43.128s, P17
Sebastien Buemi, 1m 47.105s, P18/1m 43.584s, P18
Alguersuari said he was quite happy up until the point that he pushed too hard, spun and stalled. Buemi said he didn’t get the best from the super soft tyres as he spun in Turn 16.
Lotus
Heikki Kovalainen (evening only), 1m 45.180s, P19
Jarno Trulli, 1m 48.472s, P20/ 1m 45.612s, P21
Fairuz Fauzy (afternoon only), 1m 51.705s, P24
No problems for either driver, and both were happy to find the T127 quite well suited to the Yas Marina Circuit.
Virgin
Timo Glock, 1m 48.450s, P19/ 1m 45.259s, P20
Lucas di Grassi 1m 49.375s, P21/ 1m 46.053s, P22
Glock reported straightforward sessions and said he was happy with his VR-01. Di Grassi welcomed two sessions for a change and said he’d had a very good day on his first acquaintance with the track.
HRT
Christian Klien 1m 50.274s, P23/ 1m 47.210s, P23
Bruno Senna, 1m 49.590s, P22/ 1m 47.434s, P24
No problems for either driver as they focused on learning the circuit and working on their set-ups.
Credit: Formula One Administration Ltd (http://www.formula1.com)
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