Formula 1 News: Red Bull dominates Japan Grand Prix Practice session
The Japan Grand Prix would go a long way towards determining who claims the 2010 F1 title. It was Fernando Alonso who won last 2 races in Italy and Singapore, but the Red Bull duo of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel dominated the
proceedings at both practice sessions at the Suzuka circuit.
Sebastian Vettel, the only man in the title running who has not been able to get to the top of the table this season, managed to finish fractions of a second quicker than his team mate Mark Webber. Robert Kubica was a surprise
coming in at number 3. Lewis Hamilton, who missed out on points in last 2 races due to crashes in Singapore and Italy, did not play too much of a part in the second practice session.
Rain is expected in qualifying and that may turn it into anybody’s game. During the morning session the conditions were close to ideal with a warm and dry track assisting the drivers.
There is a good amount of interest in whether Ferrari would be able to match the pace of Red Bull. During the first session, Ferrari kept their best pace hidden and went with a more cautious approach. Meanwhile the two Red Bulls
kept dominating proceedings brilliantly.
Hamilton seems to have a permanent relationship of late with unwanted crashes. During the first practice session he knocked his wheel and crashed into the barriers. During the session
session he could only get 9 laps in and tried to make the best of them.
As Hamilton was back in the pits getting his car repaired, Webber and Vettel continued to lead the practice; first on soft and later on hard tyres.
With half an hour left in the practice session, Kubica was 3rd fastest and behind him was Fernando Alonso and his team mate Felipe Massa in 4th and 5th respectively. Jenson Button, the defending
world champion, was 6th fastest. Vettel clocked the fastest lap of the session at 1.31.46. The time set by the German was one tenth quicker than his team mate Mark Webber who clocked in at 1.31.680, while the surprise package of the day Robert Kubica
was on 1.32.20.
With just 8 minutes left in the final session, Hamilton finally emerged on the tracks with soft tyres on his McLaren. His final data showed a record of 5 laps and his car was heavy on fuel. Hamilton managed 13th place
after the practice which was almost 120 seconds behind Sebastian Vettel, who was quickest on the day.
Fernando Alonso, the man who has been in superb form leading up to the race, was also almost a minute behind Vettel. Ferrari would also be hoping for the heavens to open up on Saturday as it would make it almost a level playing
field and modifications and alterations may not play the much of a role.
Sebastian Vettel though insisted that rain or no rain Red Bull would be hard to outpace at Suzuka. "The car was reliable and I had a good feeling, the pace looks okay too," he said.
"The forecast suggests rain, but there's no reason why we shouldn't be competitive in the wet. The conditions have been quite inconsistent during all the wet races that we've had so far this year, so it's hard to know what everyone's
pace will be."
Lewis Hamilton after the race admitted that he had been pushing his car a bit too hard, and he should have waited a bit longer to go full throttle. Hamilton said that when he turned his car on a corner in the first session, the
track was a bit slippery and his car was quicker than anticipated. He added that he was not the only one to have faltered at that corner and some other drivers also encountered the same problem.
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