Williams are still keeping up with the practice beating game, this time getting a 1-2 for Rosberg and Nakajima.
Previous experience tells us that this will mean utterly nothing, but they too have a lot of new bits on the car and this 1-2 is enough to leave me to leave rosberg on my fantasy F1.
We will soon find out if this was foolish or not.
Alonso got up to third, and we can expect his car to be empty but for some fuel fumes and a lot of love come qualifying.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:21.588 43
2. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:21.740 + 0.152 40
3. Alonso Renault (B) 1:21.781 + 0.193 36
4. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:21.843 + 0.255 39
5. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.027 + 0.439 37
6. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:22.052 + 0.464 35
7. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.082 + 0.494 45
8. Piquet Renault (B) 1:22.349 + 0.761 26
9. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:22.571 + 0.983 17
10. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:22.599 + 1.011 40
11. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:22.615 + 1.027 30
12. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:22.670 + 1.082 32
13. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:22.809 + 1.221 31
14. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:22.876 + 1.288 29
15. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:22.878 + 1.290 35
16. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:22.948 + 1.360 40
17. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:23.173 + 1.585 39
18. Glock Toyota (B) 1:23.360 + 1.772 46
19. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:23.623 + 2.035 47
20. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B)
What with all the teams having big updates and diffusers, it was kind of expected that this first practice would be yet another shakeup of the already shaky new world order
But it didn’t really happen.
The final result show a glimmer of hope for the disastrous BMW-Sauber season, but it looks, despite a new nose job, that it was just a light fuel run to trick the BMW board into thinking that everything is going ok, honest
Button in his Brawn seems to have the measure of the weekend whereas both McLaren and Ferrari’s changes either haven’t had much effect, or they be hustling…
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:21.799 21
2. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:22.154 + 0.355 30
3. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:22.221 + 0.422 24
4. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:22.658 + 0.859 14
5. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.659 + 0.860 24
6. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.667 + 0.868 26
7. Piquet Renault (B) 1:22.753 + 0.954 24
8. Glock Toyota (B) 1:22.828 + 1.029 29
9. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:22.855 + 1.056 15
10. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:22.859 + 1.060 24
11. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:22.873 + 1.074 20
12. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.934 + 1.135 25
13. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.959 + 1.160 24
14. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:23.077 + 1.278 21
15. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:23.088 + 1.289 30
16. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:23.089 + 1.290 25
17. Alonso Renault (B) 1:23.157 + 1.358 18
18. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:23.185 + 1.386 31
19. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:23.522 + 1.723 17
20. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:23.536 + 1.737 19
Isn’t this just getting a little embarrassing for Rosberg and Williams? Yet again another top of the timesheets in a way that always fails to convert to quali or race pace.
We’re starting to wonder if the other teams go slow on purpose in some big practical joke. “aha, nico, you weren’t fastest at all - wankerrrr”
Conversely Alonso spent the whole practice dead last, making Piquet believe for a precious few minutes that maybe he was good after all, but then Fernando blitzed round in a 1:33 and Nelson knew he was totally fucked
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:33.339 36
2. Alonso Renault (B) 1:33.530 + 0.191 25
3. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:33.616 + 0.277 37
4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:33.661 + 0.322 29
5. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:33.676 + 0.337 32
6. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:33.694 + 0.355 35
7. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:33.763 + 0.424 30
8. Glock Toyota (B) 1:33.764 + 0.425 37
9. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:33.885 + 0.546 30
10. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:33.899 + 0.560 36
11. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:33.994 + 0.655 30
12. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:34.025 + 0.686 23
13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:34.127 + 0.788 37
14. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:34.366 + 1.027 26
15. Piquet Renault (B) 1:34.411 + 1.072 29
16. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:34.564 + 1.225 34
17. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:34.605 + 1.266 31
18. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:34.670 + 1.331 28
19. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:34.764 + 1.425 35
20. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:34.790 + 1.451 33
Similar to when the cleaner of a big theatre takes to the stage when the place is shut and pretends to be a star, Lewis Hamilton headed the first practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix, pretending that he really has a chance of winning.
Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica also tried this, but their dreams only left them 2nd and 3rd. There’ll be some stiff letters to Jim’ll Fix It written in the morning.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:33.647 + 19
2. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:33.907 + 0.260 17
3. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:33.938 + 0.291 17
4. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:34.227 + 0.580 24
5. Button Brawn GP-Mercedes 1:34.434 + 0.787 15
6. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.502 + 0.855 24
7. Barrichello Brawn GP-Mercedes 1:34.531 + 0.884 18
8. Massa Ferrari 1:34.589 + 0.942 17
9. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:34.827 + 1.180 21
10. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:34.827 + 1.180 19
11. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:34.880 + 1.233 24
12. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:34.938 + 1.291 21
13. Piquet Renault 1:34.974 + 1.327 21
14. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:35.021 + 1.374 18
15. Trulli Toyota 1:35.036 + 1.389 22
16. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 1:35.042 + 1.395 16
17. Glock Toyota 1:35.333 + 1.686 20
18. Alonso Renault 1:35.348 + 1.701 24
19. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:35.353 + 1.706 22
20. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:35.369 + 1.722 15
Ron Dennis’ parting gift to McLaren F1 was seemingly to bequeath them a new diffuser, and it did the trick with Hamilton topping the timesheets in this first practice for this earlier-than-usual chinese grand prix.
Ferrari are still grumbling to anyone that’ll ask (though less people are indulging them in that kind of polite small talk) that the diffusers have ruined the year, the sport and probably got something to do with all the worlds ills. And they ended up the session in a typically grumbly 11th and 15th, there is talk that they’ll be re-employing Stefan Johannsson and Jean Alesi to remind the team how to lose properly.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:37.334 + 22
2. Button Brawn GP-Mercedes 1:37.450 + 0.116 18
3. Barrichello Brawn GP-Mercedes 1:37.566 + 0.232 19
4. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:37.672 + 0.338 23
5. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:37.752 + 0.418 20
6. Trulli Toyota 1:37.764 + 0.430 19
7. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:37.860 + 0.526 24
8. Glock Toyota 1:37.894 + 0.560 21
9. Alonso Renault 1:38.089 + 0.755 19
10. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:38.195 + 0.861 24
11. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:38.223 + 0.889 23
12. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:38.274 + 0.940 20
13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:38.307 + 0.973 26
14. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:38.319 + 0.985 18
15. Massa Ferrari 1:38.418 + 1.084 20
16. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:38.456 + 1.122 21
17. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 1:38.460 + 1.126 19
18. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:38.463 + 1.129 18
19. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:38.730 + 1.396 25
20. Piquet Renault 1:38.825 + 1.491 20
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