Practice 1: Red Bulls fast as McLaren hurt
8 October, 2010
Sebastian Vettel headed a Red Bull 1-2 in first free practice at Suzuka
Oct.8 (YallaF1.com) Red Bull Racing pair Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber dominated the first practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend at Suzuka.
Mark Webber was only fractionally slower than his team mate
Ominously, for Red Bull’s rivals and as expected, the RB6 appears well suited to the challenges of Suzuka.
The session witnessed Lewis Hamilton crashing his McLaren heavily into the barrier on the exit of Degner while second fastest on the timing screens
Later in the session Mclaren’s Jenson Button also went off at the same place on the circuit, but escaped without major damage.
Nevertheless Hamilton ended the session fifth fastest, behind Robert Kubica’ Renault and the Force India of Adrian Sutil.
Typically, in the opening session, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was down the order as the team focussed on setup and back to back tests of new parts. The Spaniard was 13th at the end of the session.
Overcast conditions, threatening rain, greeted the drivers on the opening session at Suzuka.
Free Practice 1 – 8 October 2010
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | RBR-Renault | 1:32.585 | 23 | |
| 2 | 6 | Mark Webber | RBR-Renault | 1:32.633 | 0.048 | 23 |
| 3 | 11 | Robert Kubica | Renault | 1:33.129 | 0.544 | 23 |
| 4 | 14 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 1:33.639 | 1.054 | 13 |
| 5 | 2 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:33.643 | 1.058 | 9 |
| 6 | 9 | Rubens Barrichello | Williams-Cosworth | 1:33.677 | 1.092 | 21 |
| 7 | 10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Williams-Cosworth | 1:33.707 | 1.122 | 24 |
| 8 | 3 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes GP | 1:33.739 | 1.154 | 20 |
| 9 | 22 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber-Ferrari | 1:33.791 | 1.206 | 23 |
| 10 | 4 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes GP | 1:33.831 | 1.246 | 9 |
| 11 | 7 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:33.929 | 1.344 | 25 |
| 12 | 1 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:34.042 | 1.457 | 19 |
| 13 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:34.169 | 1.584 | 23 |
| 14 | 23 | Kamui Kobayashi | BMW Sauber-Ferrari | 1:34.271 | 1.686 | 19 |
| 15 | 12 | Vitaly Petrov | Renault | 1:34.373 | 1.788 | 24 |
| 16 | 15 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Force India-Mercedes | 1:34.379 | 1.794 | 21 |
| 17 | 16 | Sebastien Buemi | STR-Ferrari | 1:34.991 | 2.406 | 26 |
| 18 | 17 | Jaime Alguersuari | STR-Ferrari | 1:35.684 | 3.099 | 22 |
| 19 | 19 | Heikki Kovalainen | Lotus-Cosworth | 1:36.949 | 4.364 | 25 |
| 20 | 24 | Timo Glock | Virgin-Cosworth | 1:37.329 | 4.744 | 17 |
| 21 | 18 | Jarno Trulli | Lotus-Cosworth | 1:37.388 | 4.803 | 23 |
| 22 | 25 | Jerome d’Ambrosio | Virgin-Cosworth | 1:37.778 | 5.193 | 23 |
| 23 | 21 | Bruno Senna | HRT-Cosworth | 1:38.814 | 6.229 | 28 |
| 24 | 20 | Sakon Yamamoto | HRT-Cosworth | 1:39.443 | 6.858 | 26 |
Related posts:
- The Slipstream: Japanese GP preview
- Japanese GP: FIA preview
- Practice 3: Vettel too fast yet again
- Practice 2: Vettel top as Red Bulls show pace
- Practice 3: Webber top as Red Bulls awaken
