21/09/2012
NEWS STORY
Ahead of today's opening practice session the air temperature is 29 degrees C, as is the track temperature.
A couple of hours ago the circuit was hit by a massive thunderstorm. It stopped raining a while ago but despite the heat there are many parts of the track that remain damp, consequently the session has been declared 'wet'. Interestingly, the track is also littlered with leaves.
With McLaren having won the last three races, all eyes are on the Woking team this weekend, and not only to see if its winning streak continues. However, on a track more suited to the Red Bull, perhaps Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber can get back into the title fight.
Meanwhile, at Ferrari, Felipe Massa can help keep his seat for 2013 as he sports teammate Fernando Alonso's title bid, while Mercedes is relying on its various upgrades.
Romain Grosjean is back in the Lotus after his one-race ban, while the only reserve driver on duty is Ma Qing Hua is back in the HRY of Narain Karthikeyan.
Tyre compounds are soft (prime) and super-soft (option).
The lights go green and Perez leads the way, followed by Vergne, Ricciardo and Pic. All are on inters. A number of drivers are sporting new helmet liveries, Vettel's actually features small flashing silver lights. Ye gods!
HRT is running a number of updates including a new floor, therefore it comes as no surprise that it is coated in flo-vis paint.
Five minutes into the session all but Grosjean and Hamilton have been out for an installation lap. Most on inters but a few on full wets.
A rapid Schumacher almost runs into the back of a slow Rosberg, the rain lights on both Mercedes flashing but clearly not enough.
Nine minutes into the session, Hamilton is the last man out, the Englishman lucky not to cloud one of the numerous photographers gathering not only for a shot of the man in the news but also the raft of updates on the car.
Perez comes out for a second run but subsequently returns to the pits. While the teams feel there s no point running on a drying track the fact is that rain is expected for must of the weekend.
Out for a second run, Glock posts a 2:24.476 before returning to the pits.
Kobayashi leaves the pits, followed by Vettel, the overhead shots revealing that due to the humidity the damp patches remain damp.
Despite setting a strong pace in the first two sectors Vettel dives back into the pits. However, Vergne completes his lap and goes quickest with a 2:04.866.
Grosjean goes second with a 2:05.130, the Frenchman claiming that his Monza ban has taught him a lesson. We shall see Romain, we shall see.
Hulkenberg posts 2:02.852 still way off the pace set in FP1 last year when Hamilton led the way with a 1:48.599.
Just one lap later, Hulkenberg complains that his inters are already "going off".
Alonso goes quickest with a 2:01.573, ahead of Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Grosjean, Vergne, Kobayashi, de la Rosa and Glock.
Kobayashi is the first driver to switch to dry rubber (soft), the Sauber driver immediately going quickest (1:58.550). The news is passed on to Raikkonen who aborts his lap and returns to the pits.
As Rosberg (primes) goes second, Kobayashi raises the bar with a 55.651.
Senna pushing hard, riding the kerbs and getting up close and personal with the walls as he improves from seventh to third with a 59.447.
Moments later, Schumacher posts 56.834 to leapfrog the Williams driver. Elsewhere a big lock up at the chicane for his Mercedes teammate.
"No rain in next 30 minutes but risk of thundery shower before end of FP1," warn the timing screens.
As Alonso perseveres with the inters, remaining sixth, Button posts 2:01.890 to seventh on softs.
Rosberg goes quickest with a 53.416 ahead of Perez and Kobayashi. With 34:00 on the clock, only Webber, di Resta and Hamilton have yet to post a time.
No sooner has Button improved to second than Raikkonen posts 53.268 to take the top spot. Elsewhere, Hamilton goes fifteenth with a 59.177.
A 51.986 sees Vettel go quickest (51.864), as di Resta goes third (52.296).
As it gets ever darker, and the mechanics work on a crack on Schumacher's front wing - the result of his over enthusiasm over the kerbs - Maldonado goes quickest with a 51.864.
Worried that he too might have done damage, Perez tells his mechanics that they need to check his car because he drove "very badly" through the chicane. The unforgiving kerbs are catching out a lot of the drivers.
As Webber goes second (51.655), Vettel goes quickest in S2 and Hamilton in S1. The German subsequently crosses the line at 51.367 and the Englishman at 51.172.
All but two of the times have been posted on dry rubber now, Massa and Petrov being the odd men out.
Vettel takes the top spot with a 50.566 the German still around 2s off the anticipated pace. Alonso posts 52.291 to go eighth, albeit 1.7s off Vettel's pace.
Ma, in only his second GP Friday, is 0.3s off de la rosa's pace. That said, the Spaniard has never driven this track before.
Maldonado stops at Turn 9 after a mistake which sees him run wide but is subsequently able to continue.
With 12:00 on the clock, Hamilton, just 0.049s down on Vettel, is out of his car, the Englishman clearly feeling that he's done enough for this morning. No such luck for his crew who continue working on the McLaren.
Massa and Petrov are finally on softs, the Brazilian looking to improve on sixteenth and the Russian twenty-first.
Drivers are still struggling for grip all missing various corners. Grosjean does a particularly deft job of getting back on track after an excursion.
The Mercedes duo are particularly busy as they test the much anticipated exhaust system.
As Perez complains of instability, spark fly from the bottom of Raikkonen's Lotus as the Finn rides the track's numerous bumps.
A later improvement sees Button go third (51.459), while Webber posts 51.655 to consolidate sixth.
The session ends with Vettel quickest ahead of Hamilton, Button, Alonso, Maldonado, Webber, Hulkenberg, di Resta, Ricciardo and Perez.
Senna is eleventh, ahead of Raikkonen, Kobayashi, Schumacher, Grosjean, Massa, Vergne, Rosberg, Glock, Kovalainen, Pic, Petrov, de la Rosa and Ma.
Rosberg completed the most laps (26), ahead of Senna and Vergne (25) and Vettel, Hulkenberg and Ricciardo all on 24.
Fastest through the speedtrap was Hulkenberg, ahead of Hamilton, Vettel, di Resta, Senna and Schumacher.
Check out our Practice gallery, here.