Formula One: Alonso quickest in German GP practice session- Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull will be having a close fight
Fernando Alonso in his Ferrari outpaced the rest in the 2nd qualifying session at German Grand Prix, the Spaniard was looking good throughout and as the session went on, he started getting quicker and quicker.
The 2 fastest cars of the season Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, could not match the pace of 2 time world champion, Alonso. Vettel finished 2nd, while Webber was 4th. Fernando Alonso’s Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa also had a good day at practice he ended up with 3rd quickest time of the day.
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton was unfortunate to crash his car in the tyre fences during the first practice session, after the repairs he did manage to get back on the track. The 2008 world champion only had 12 minutes left on the clock, and still managed to get 7th quickest time.
Jenson Button did not have the best of times; he had been complaining before practice that he was not comfortable with the rear end of the car. The current world champion could only finish 15th on the day.
The first session of practice was quite testing for all drivers; there was some heavy rain and water on the tracks did not make things any easier for the drivers.
There was a high contingency of German drivers on the track, in total, there were 6 German drivers and Adrian Sutil from Force India managed to edge past his compatriots in the first session.
The 2nd session though started with better conditions overall, the weather improved and the tracks dried out. Michael Schumacher who had torrid time in the first session also enjoyed the dry tracks later on.
Schumacher who has won the German Grand Prix 4 times in the past, could not outpace his team mate Nico Rosberg, who finished the session with 5th fastest time overall.
Karun Chandhok who was dropped by Hispania for this race, said that qualifying and race day will be very close. He added that it would be a battle between the usual suspects; he said that Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull will be having a close fight.
It looks like the weather may play a crucial role in qualifying on Saturday, it is predicted to be a wet day, and teams who can use the conditions better would be the ones benefiting the most.
Jenson Button, who did not have a happy day, said it was just practice and he is glad that he got to know the problems with his car before hand. He added that it was good to have a run out in the wet weather, as it is expected to rain again on Saturday and probably on Sunday too.
Button though did say that he fears that his car may not be that adaptable to wet conditions, he said that in the 2nd session when the track was dry he felt more comfortable and in control.
Hamilton though was the one that suffered the worst from the wet weather. The winner of last year’s German Grand Prix did not anticipate the slippery conditions and took a turn too sharply at turn 3, Hamilton ended up in the tyre wall. After the crash, he could be heard on the radio. Hamilton while talking to his team on the radio said that he has smashed in the wall and thinks the car is heavily damaged.
Hamilton after the practice sessions said that, his car was damaged quite badly after the crash. He added that he was astonished by the work his team did in quickly getting him back on track in the 2nd session.
Ferrari though looked quite pleased after the sessions and said that they hope to continue the good form, Alonso said this race may mark the start of Ferrari’s resurgence.
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