Australian GP 2011: Free Practice Review and Analysis

Free Practice One – The home favourite takes P1

It was a Red Bull 1-2 in the first session, which came as no surprise to anyone; they are regarded as the team to beat this weekend. Mark Webber took P1 with a time of 1.26.831, just over three tenths of a second faster than Vettel who posted a time of 1.27.158.

Fernando Alonso was P3, just under a second behind Mark Webber; although it seemed Ferrari and Mercedes – who were P4 with Rosberg were not showing their true potential. Rosberg was previously up on Vettel's time although he had to back off towards the end of the lap and could only manage P4 in the end.

The session started with a bang when Karun Chandhok crashed after just four corners – many had thought it was originally a problem with the car although after watching the replay it seemed that Chandhok had simply got on the power too early and oversteered into the wall.

Mercedes dominated the speed traps and were impressive in the first and second sectors although lost time in the third – a sign that they were possibly running lower downforce than the Red Bull's. The car had good grip and looked good at changing direction, they certainly didn't show their true pace.

Many drivers struggled under braking in the first session, seemingly due to the Drag Reduction System or adjustable rear wing. Massa took a trip into the gravel and Rosberg also went wide on various occasions. The Force India's had problems with locking up; the same problem had happened in testing and it looks like they have failed to get rid of it. One thing they don't want to be doing is flat spotting tyres as it will hurt them massively in the race.

FP1 Result - 2011 Australian Grand Prix

Free practice two - McLaren find some speed

Light rain welcomed the start of the second free practice session, although it soon settled down and Lewis Hamilton was quick to set the pace, closely followed by the Mercedes of Michael Schumacher.

Yet again many drivers struggled at turn three, Perez and Maldonado went wide onto the Astroturf and Jarno Trulli had a trip into the gravel. All incidents were seemingly down to the Drag Reduction System which causes the front tyres to lock if shut too late.

Button was soon to join the pair at the top trading times, he and Schumacher both posted impressive times but it was Button who came out on top, posting a time of 1.25.854.

Hamilton and Alonso were a further tenth behind Button with the two Red Bull's 4th and 5th with Michael Schumacher sixth fastest.

Button's time at the top was secured after light rain dampened the circuit towards the end meaning nobody could beat the Britons time.

HRT could only manage an installation lap with one car as their chance of making the race seems increasingly smaller, Virgin and Lotus were also close to the 107% time so that's something to watch out for in qualifying tomorrow.

The Pirelli tyres, which had originally been a massive worry ahead of this weekend seemed to be pretty durable, with Pirelli's press officer saying some teams could possibly manage a two stop race. Personally I think it'll be a three or four stop race, whoever manages one less pit stop could find themselves ahead but under pressure from those behind on fresh rubber.

Ferrari and Red Bull were closely matched on long runs so many still consider them as the team to beat for this weekend, although Mercedes were mighty in the speed traps so it looks like they could put some extra downforce on come qualifying and the race. Never rule out McLaren who impressed after the second session with Jenson Button saying the car now has reliability but said there "is no use looking at the times".

McLaren's new package had seemingly brought positive results - with Jenson Button stating that the car "feels a lot more complete". Hamilton was also upbeat and stated that the car "definitely had a lot more downforce, which is always a positive, the initial feeling is that we're quick" but he was certain that Red Bull and Ferrari were hiding their pace.

FP2 Result - 2011 Australian Grand Prix

Practice 3 will be on the Red Button for UK viewers at 2.55am with the qualifying pre-show starting at 5am GMT on BBC One and BBC One HD.

Posted by Alex Cooper. Follow me on twitter @acooperf1

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Last Comment Posted »

• Interesting point about the Force India cars. They didn't seem especially quick, so hopefully they can sort out their braking issues.

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