Australian GP Free Practice Photos

Williams Toyota - Australian GP - Free Practice

Williams Toyota got off to a flying start today in Melbourne with Nico Rosberg topping both Friday practice sessions.

Team-mate Kazuki Nakajima also had a good opening day to the Australian Grand Prix weekend with the second and then sixth fastest time.
Nico Rosberg
"In both sessions sector two was working particularly well. There are only two ‘real’ corners in the sector, but it’s really interesting and it feels good in the car."

"The FW31 is well balanced all round the track, but seems even more so there than in any other places. After a winter of testing, it’s good to get out on a new, fresh track and we seem to be in a better position than we thought."
Kazuki Nakajima
"Sector two is my favourite here at Albert Park. It includes a complete variety of corners, from the medium speed in turn 6 to the slow speed corners like 9, while 11 and 12 are the quickest. It makes it hard to establish a rhythm, but sector two certainly keeps your attention!"

Renault - Australian GP - Free Practice

Renault had a productive day in Albert Park as Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet began their preparations for Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix.

Alonso set the tenth best time in the first session and the 12th in the second as he evaluated tyres and general setup work.

Nelson Piquet survived a spin at the first turn and was less happy with the balance of his R29. He was 18th and 19th in the two sessions.

Fernando Alonso
“At last, after lots of winter testing, expectations and predictions, we have started the 2009 season. Today we concentrated on car set-up in hot conditions without being too concerned by what our competitors were doing. We now have lots of valuable information and, as usual, we will go over that this evening. We are missing some grip but we have some ideas about how we can overcome these issues. So I’m still confident. We should deliver a better performance tomorrow.”

Nelson Piquet
"That wasn’t an easy day. I struggled to find a good balance on a green track with little grip. However, the settings that we worked on today have still helped us explore some interesting developments for tomorrow and I remain positive.”

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
Track conditions: “As always in Melbourne, there are lots of support races and the track was in reasonable condition when free practice began. Having said that, the sessions took place quite late in the day and the asphalt tended to cool down and we had to take this into account.”

Chassis balance: “The car was not as well balanced as we would have liked. We encountered lots of oversteer today and reducing that is what we are concentrating on.”

Tyre performance: “The harder tyres are rather difficult to get up to temperature. The soft tyres give a good level of performance from the first lap, but they then suffer from quite significant graining.”

Problems encountered: “We encountered an electrical problem on Fernando’s car this morning and that limited his track time a little bit. Other than that, the R29 has not had any problems.”

Outlook for the rest of the weekend: “Our goal is to focus on the balance of the car in order to overcome the oversteer on this demanding circuit.”

Toro Rosso Ferrari - Australian GP - Free Practice

With just one complete test session ahead of the new season with the new STR4 package, Toro Rosso expect the opening few races of the year to be a steep learning curve.

Sebastien Bourdais recorded the 19th and 16th fastest times in the two sessions with rookie Sebastien Buemi 16th and 20th.
Sebastien Bourdais
“It was good that we had a trouble free day and were able to get on with our work, even if we knew we were not going to be quick enough, as we are lacking some development parts, which at this early point in the season always make a big difference."

"I was fairly happy with the balance of the car on the super soft tyre, apart from a bit too much oversteer at high speed. Overall, it’s not too bad, but we will do the best we can even if I think we will struggle to make it into Q2 tomorrow.”
Sebastien Buemi
“My first F1 practice session and I had a lot of new things to learn and to deal with.
It was not too bad, we tried various changes and improved the car lap by lap. The second session got off to quite a good start, but later we had some difficulty with finding the right set up."

"Given our lack of testing with this car, today was like a test session which we used to learn more about the car. It’s my first time at this circuit and I still need to get used to it and I learned a lot, but there is still plenty to do to improve tomorrow.”

McLaren Mercedes - Australian GP - Free Practice

Heikki Kovalainen finished the second practice session 17th in his McLaren Mercedes after setting the fifth best time in the first session.

Last year's Australian Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton was 16th and 18th in the second MP4-24.

Along with many of its rivals, the team worked on aero and mechanical set-up, prime and option tyre evaluation and tyre degradation analysis over a long stint.
Lewis Hamilton
P1 programme: “The first session didn’t prove too productive for us,” said Lewis. “We worked hard to get the prime tyres to operate effectively, but the track conditions and our set-up made it difficult to get them to work, and it didn’t give me the confidence to push hard.”

P2 programme: “The changes we made after P1 made the car feel much better.
We’re still working to refine the balance – and we have a number of issues still to address – but we are heading in the right direction.”
Heikki Kovalainen
P1 programme: “Although the track was very green and slippery, the car felt good from the start of the session,” said Heikki. “Our balance was good, particularly in the high-speed corners, and KERS deployed well, working smoothly throughout both sessions.”

P2 programme: “A reasonable first day – even if the times don’t properly reflect that. We saw some decent pace and made some progress which was pleasing for the new guys on my car this year.”
Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal
“We arrived in Australia fully aware that we’d be facing a tough start to the season. But we adhered to a disciplined programme today, focusing on tyre durability work, and weren’t swayed by a desire to post flattering times."

"Equally, we’re now focusing on implementing the performance steps we’ve planned for the next few races. Overall, then, we’ve made good progress recently but are well aware that we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
Norbert Haug, VP Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“After the winter tests, we knew that we would have a difficult start into the season. While our car has improved since the Barcelona test, we still have a lot of work to do.”

Toyota - Australian GP - Free Practice

Toyota got the 2009 season under way on a warm and sunny afternoon at Albert Park in Melbourne with free practice for the Australian Grand Prix today.

With air temperatures of 18-19°C and track temperatures of 25-33°C, Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock put the TF109 to the test during two 90-minute practice sessions.

Trulli was the first Toyota driver to hit the track this season, exiting the pits in the first session shortly before Glock and the pair went on to complete a largely trouble-free session of set-up evaluation.

For the second session both drivers had the chance to try out the super soft Bridgestone Potenza tyres in addition to the medium compound experienced earlier in the day, while continuing their mechanical and aerodynamic set-up work. They put in a busy stint and both ended the day in the top six.
Jarno Trulli
"It was a tough day because we covered quite a few laps and had a lot of things to work on. In general we have worked really hard to understand the tyres and find the right set-up, which is not easy. I am still not completely happy with the car balance and, even though when you look at the timing sheets things look pretty good for us, the car isn't completely comfortable to drive. Now we have to work on improving the set-up and the balance for tomorrow when it is most important. Anyway, I have to say it's great to be back at a Grand Prix because I love being behind the wheel with the atmosphere and excitement of a race weekend; this is what I live for."
Timo Glock
"In the end I am satisfied with our day but I have to say the first session went better than the second session for me.
In the first session I had a good feeling from the car and things were running well but then later on I suddenly had a few problems because the car was a bit nervous and didn't feel as stable on the long runs. The behaviour of the car seemed to change between the sessions so we have to look at the data to understand why that happened. So we still have some work to do but that is the purpose of practice and we will work hard on the car set-up before qualifying tomorrow."
Dieter Gass, Chief Engineer Race and Test
"It was a reasonable day for us. The track evolution was different compared to previous years but that was probably connected to the later start for practice. As usual it was dirty to begin with so that affected the grip and then in the second session it seemed the track began to drop off at one stage. The biggest issue we have to follow up is the tyres because the behaviour is not quite as we expected, but apart from that it was a pretty smooth day with both cars. We didn't have any significant issues so we completed quite a lot of laps and got through our full programme of looking at set-up and studying the tyres. It is only Friday so it's not easy to judge relative performance but we are looking quite competitive, even though we will focus on improving our long-run performance before the race."

Force India Mercedes - Australian GP - Free Practice

Force India's campaign got underway today with two 90 minute free practice sessions at the Albert Park track in Melbourne, Australia.

Both Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella had strong starts to the year, with Sutil recording the ninth quickest time in both sessions and Fisichella the 14th and 13th fastest times - already on a par with their respective 2008 qualifying laps.

After a very limited winter testing programme, the team's objective today was to cover as many laps as possible and further its understanding of the new car, the VJM02. The programme also included comparing the two Bridgestone Potenza tyre compounds available this weekend, set-up work and, in the afternoon, longer and new tyre runs.
Adrian Sutil
"I hope this is representative of where we are, but it is still very early on in the weekend. We had a good session in the afternoon and could do some quite promising runs. I was pleased with the car, we had no real problems. The balance depended on the tyres. In the second session we did some race runs and struggled a lot with the softer tyre, but I think once the track rubbers in the tyres will grip better, but overall it was OK and a good position in the end.
I think we can be happy with where we are right now."
Giancarlo Fisichella
"It's a bit too early to say how we can perform this weekend. The car is better under high speed but so far I am struggling with the rear locking and I'm not 100% comfortable just yet. We're in better shape than last year for sure though. We will see tomorrow but at least we know there is potential to improve over night."
Simon Roberts, Chief Operating Officer
"It's been a promising start to the weekend today. I've been really pleased with the team and the overall performance. We managed to get everything we needed to completed and, apart from a couple of niggles in the first session - really just early season teething problems - it was a good team showing."

BMW Sauber - Australian GP - Free Practice

At 12.30 hrs local time in Melbourne, Australia, the 2009 season finally started. For the BMW Sauber team the two free practice sessions were trouble free and unspectacular. Nick Heidfeld finished 11th and 14th, while Robert Kubica was 13th and 15th.

The team fitted Heidfeld’s F1.09 with the Kinetic Energy Recovery System while Kubica drove without the hybrid system.
Nick Heidfeld
"It was great fun to drive here today. It was high time the season started. We had no technical problems and completed our entire programme – with the usual tyre comparison and long runs. The Albert Park circuit isn’t a permanent race track and, therefore, naturally has a very low grip level at the beginning of the race weekend. It improved a little during the two practice sessions but even in the end it wasn’t good."
Robert Kubica
"It was the first Friday of the season, but, apart from that, it was the normal work improving the set-up and evaluating the tyres for the race.
We collected a lot of data which we have to analyse so we can make more progress. Overall we are lacking grip, and we have to find out why."
Willy Rampf, Head of Engineering
"At last the new season has started! We did not have any technical problems today, KERS also worked without any difficulties. We were able to complete our full programme. The focus was the set-up work for the race, but so far we are not satisfied with this. The decisive factor will be to use the tyre performance perfectly for both specifications. We will concentrate on this in the third practice."

Red Bull Renault - Australian GP - Free Practice

Sebastian Vettel made his Grand Prix weekend debut today as a Red Bull Renault driver, but it was a tough day for last year's Italian Grand Prix winner.

A hydraulic failure left him stranded on track in the first session after just four laps, while an error saw him spin out of the second session with 30 minutes remaining. He was eighth fastest in session two.

Mark Webber also had a mechanical problem on his RB5 in the first session, but later went on to complete 30 laps and record the fourth fastest time.
Sebastian Vettel
“We had a bad session in this morning’s practice and didn’t get too much running, due to a hydraulics problem. In the afternoon we were able to get some laps in, but unfortunately I made a stupid mistake towards the end of the practice, so we couldn’t run through our programme. Nevertheless, it’s looking alright with what we’ve done compared to the time we had on the circuit, so let’s see how we go tomorrow. Like always on Fridays, it’s a bit difficult to interpret everyone’s lap times, but I think we can be happy.”
Mark Webber
“It’s great to be back in Australia. I’m proud of the Australian GP; they put on an excellent show here for everyone and it’s good for the local people. They’ve had a tough few months recently with the fires, so I hope they enjoy the weekend.
My day today was a bit hit and miss to be honest, as we had a few technical problems with the car. I didn’t get many laps in during the first session, but the second was a lot better. We completed more laps and tried both types of tyres, so we’ve got some good stuff to go through tonight."

"It was quite interesting to see how low the sun was through the trees towards the end of the second session, it was good to run with that to get used to it for Sunday.”
Christian Horner, Team Principal
“After the off-track activities of the last couple of days, it was good to get the weekend under way. There were a couple of issues in the first session – a hydraulics leak with Sebastian and a driveshaft problem with Mark limited our run-time. In the second session both drivers showed good pace and we worked through our programme. Unfortunately Sebastian had a small off, which ended his day early, but both drivers seem comfortable in the car and their pace was respectable.”

Ferrari - Australian GP - Free Practice

The first two sessions of free practice for the Australian Grand Prix confirmed that the rule changes introduced this year have jumbled up the pack.

Ferrari were not alone in finding themselves lower than would have been expected, with Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen tenth and 11th fastest respectively.

Stefano Domenicali
“One cannot really draw hasty conclusions after just three hours of free practice, but the first signs seem to support what we saw during winter testing. The pecking order that had established itself in recent years seems to have been overturned and we now find ourselves up against different and more numerous rivals."

"We did a lot of kilometres, pretty much completing the planned programme and now we have to carefully study all the data gathered. The most important data that catches the eye today concerns tyre management, which this year as never before, seems rather delicate: the softer tyres seem to degrade considerably over a distance, while the harder ones suffer from a lack of grip. We knew this to be the case and we have to concentrate on this problem and on how to improve the overall performance of the F60."

Felipe Massa
“We are more or less okay with the set up, although there is still room to improve the performance. I was not able to do a time on the soft tyres in the second session as I made a mistake because of oversteer: in this phase we had a different balance on the car compared to when we had used the hard tyres, which proved not to be the ideal choice.
On top of that, towards the end of the session, the wind got up a bit, which definitely did not help. Tomorrow, with everyone on the same fuel load, we will see what the situation is.”

Kimi Raikkonen
“This morning, the car went well, while in the afternoon, we didn’t manage to find a satisfactory set up, even though we tried various solutions. I think there is every chance we can improve our performance, but I can’t say by how much compared to the others. Today, it’s difficult to say where we are compared to them and we will see after tomorrow’s qualifying.”

Luca Baldisserri
"The first Friday of the season always throws up some surprises and that is even more than usual the case this year, given the numerous rule changes. Today, we did a lot of running and had no technical problems: reliability will be one of the dominant themes of the championship and it will be vital to try and pick up points every time. In these three hours of free practice, we saw that our performance over a long run seems to be very consistent but we have to see how to improve outright performance for tomorrow’s qualifying.”