McLaren-Mercedes set the pace in second practice session in Melbourne – Formula 1 news
McLaren-Mercedes drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton ended on top of the time sheets in the second practice session of the Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park in Melbourne.
The first practice session was dominated by Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. This was expected from the reigning champions, as they were quick in the pre-season testing. However, Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso was also not far behind the
2010 champions, and ended up as the third fastest.
McLaren did not find the pace in the first session, as both Button and Hamilton finished sixth and seventh respectively. The British drivers struggled to match the pace of Ferrari and Red Bull in the winter testing. They were also outpaced by Mercedes GP
after the German team brought an upgrade package during the Barcelona test session.
However, a revised exhaust seems to have worked for the British team, as they were the only team to complete their lap within 1 minute and 26 seconds on Friday. This will be quite encouraging for the McLaren drivers, as they were not able to find the grip
before the race weekend. They also had several reliability issues with their car, which appear to be sorted out after Friday’s practice.
Apart from McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari, the other team which showed some pace in the practice session was Mercedes GP. Nico Rosberg was fourth fastest in the first session whereas his teammate Michael Schumacher ended up as sixth fastest in the session.
The seven-time Formula 1 champion was the quickest for most part of the practice session, but his time was then beaten by Button who finished on top of the table.
With ten minutes remaining in the session, rainfall forced the drivers to slow down. The last few minutes would have been interesting if the track had remained dry. However, the McLaren drivers were lucky to remain on top.
All teams will be back on track for the third practice session on Saturday. After getting used to the track conditions, the qualifiers will begin and the teams will get a true picture of where they stand in terms of pace.
The first race of the 2011 season will be held in Melbourne, Australia on 27 March, 2011.
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