AusGP: Button quickest in Friday practice

Rain interrupted proceedings during both of F1’s free practice sessions at the 2012 Australian Grand Prix yesterday. It robbed the teams and fans of the first genuine chance to see who was going to be the team to beat in Melbourne.

In drying conditions during the morning session it was Jenson Button who set the day’s fastest time when lapped the 5.3km Albert Park Circuit in 1:27.560. For context that time is four seconds slower than Sebastian Vettel’s pole position time from last year.

In the afternoon Michael Schumacher relived the glory days by finishing the session on top of the timesheets. His time was 1:29.183 and as such doesn’t really offer us a true representation of what to expect in today’s sunny and dry conditions.

World Champion team Red Bull Racing was down the field, with Webber finishing fifth fastest in FP1 (1:28.467) and Sebastian Vettel eleventh (1:29.790). While in the second session it was Vettel who led the Red Bulls in tenth (1:32.194) just ahead of Webber (1:32.296).

Australia’s other hope Daniel Ricciardo took his Toro Rosso to seventh in the morning (1:28.908) before being well down the field in twenty-first during the afternoon (1:34.604).

Free Practice 3 starts at 2pm and runs for an hour. Qualifying starts at 5pm and it is then that we should get the first genuine insights as to how the early part of the season should progress.

[Pic: asphotos]