10/05/2013
NEWS STORY
 |
Ahead of today’s opening free practice session the air temperature is 17 degrees C, while the track temperature is 18 degrees. F1 returns to Europe and guess what, it’s cold and it’s raining.
This being where the 2013 season really gets going, all the teams have loads of updates – Mercedes even has a new (more silver) livery, but if conditions don’t improve they are unlikely to get much information from them.
After four races it’s still fairly well balanced even though Sebastian Vettel has two wins to his name. However, with Ferrari, Lotus and, to an extent, Mercedes, still looking good it is hoped that Red Bull doesn’t get it all its own way otherwise attention will shift to 2014 leaving Vettel to take his fourth successive title.
This is an important race for everyone, but in particular McLaren and Williams, both multi-championship winners and both winners here in Barcelona.
Not only has Pirelli changed the compound of its hard tyres for this weekend – and onwards – the teams will have access to an extra set of prototype (unmarked) hard tyres in an effort to promote more running. Though in this weather…
The lights go green but there is no rush to get to work. That said, after a couple of minutes Bianchi and Chilton head down the pitlane.
Rodolfo Gonzalez is the on duty again this morning, the Venezuelan in Chilton’s Marussia. At Caterham, Heikki Kovalainen is in Pic’s car.
As more drivers pour – no pun intended – on to the track, some are on inters and others on full wets.
An early mistake sees Grosjean (inters) spin, the Frenchman losing the back of the Lotus in T10.
Ten minutes into the session all but Button, Perez and Rosberg have been out.
Hulkenberg is the first driver out for a second run, the Sauber star subsequently posting the first time of the day (1:51.644). Next time around, as the TV camera cuts to spare parts arriving at the McLaren garage, the German improves to 48.508.
Nineteen minutes into the session, Perez leaves the pits, the underside of his car smothered in flo-vis. After a single lap the feisty Mexican returns to his garage.
With just over an hour remaining, Massa, Hamilton and Vettel are on track. They are subsequently joined by Grosjean.
A 45.023 sees Massa go quickest, the cameras picking up a big slide from the Brazilian and an off-track excursion from Grosjean. The Frenchman subsequently posts 45.974.
Grosjean improves to 44.714 as Vergne goes third (46.885) and Alonso, Maldonado and Rosberg leave the pits.
Alonso immediately goes quickest in S1, as Sutil goes third overall with a 45.611. Moments later the German is leapfrogged by Gutierrez (45.069). Alonso finally crosses the line at 45.084 to go fourth.
Sutil and Grosjean both run wide at T14, while, back in the pits, Button chats to a couple of friends.
As Alonso goes quickest (43.630), di Resta locks-up and runs wide in T10.
Webber goes second with a 44.589, all but Kovalainen on inters now.
At half-time, with just thirteen names on the timesheet, it’s: Alonso, Gutierrez, Grosjean, Vergne, Raikkonen, Webber, Ricciardo, Massa, Sutil and Van der Garde.
As Raikkonen improves to third (43.684), on-board coverage shows how hard the Finn is having to fight the car.
As Vergne goes quickest (42.667), Hamilton is told to “enable LPC”, whatever that might be.
A great new helmet camera on Bottas’ helmet cuts away just as the Finn has a wicked twitch.
Webber improves to quickest with a 41.658 as a dry line is clearly visible on some parts of the track. Next time around the Australian improves to 40.845.
With 36:00 on the clock, still no times from the Mercedes duo, the McLaren pair Kovalainen, Gonzalez or Vettel.
Di Resta, currently eleventh (42.790), improves to fifth with a 41.368. Caterham tweets that an (unspecified) “small technical issue” has sidelined Kovalainen but that it is being fixed.
A 38.732 sees Alonso go quickest, ahead of Ricciardo and Webber, as ‘rain man’ Hulkenberg goes quickest in S1.
As Ricciardo consolidates second, closing to within 0.013s of Alonso, Hulkenberg improves to third with a 38.873.
With half-an-hour remaining, Button heads down the pitlane. Elsewhere, Ricciardo goes quickest with a 37.987.
Returning to the pits after a single exploratory lap, Button tells the team that his car is “on the nose”.
Hamilton goes quickest with a 36.159, the Englishman, like his rivals, on the inters.
With 19:19 on the clock, Vergne is the first driver to make the switch to slicks, the Frenchman fitting a set of the prototype hard tyres first used in Brazil.
Vergne immediately improves to fifth (37.444), as Massa has a big moment before going quickest with a 36.005. Next time around, going quickest in the final two sectors, Vergne takes the top spot with a 34.710. Back in the pits teammate Ricciardo fits a set of the prototype tyres.
Massa, still on the inters, consolidates second with a 34.899, as Vergne runs wide in successive corners after hitting a damp patch on his slicks.
Gutierrez (slicks) goes sixth with a 37.660, as Rosberg and Webber also switch to the dry rubber.
As Ricciardo goes quickest (29.602), Vergne complains that his car is “really twitchy” at the front. The team advise him to soldier on.
Rosberg (hard) goes second with a 30.333, as Vettel heads down the pitlane on a set of the prototype tyres. Along with the McLaren duo he is the only driver yet to post a time.
A 26.918 sees Hamilton take the top spot, as Massa goes off into the gravel at T7. Moments later Hamilton and Vettel almost tangle.
The TV director cuts to Bottas’ helmet camera just as the Finn goes quickest (26.456), however, his time at the top is short lived as Vergne, Grosjean and then Massa (25.618) go quicker.
As the chequered flag is waved Alonso goes quickest (25.252), 0.203s ahead of his teammate. Elsewhere, McLaren buddies Button and Perez are running nose-to-tail.
The session ends with Alonso quickest, ahead of Massa, Vergne, Grosjean, Sutil, Hamilton, Bottas, Raikkonen, Rosberg and di Resta.
Ricciardo is eleventh, ahead of Hulkenberg, Perez, Gutierrez, Maldonado, Kovalainen, Van der Garde, Bianchi, Vettel, Webber and Gonzalez. Button is the only driver who didn’t post a time.
Check out our Friday gallery, here.