Brawn GP News

Friday was the first chance to see all the 2009 Formula one cars out together on the same track.  The day was split into two practice sessions.  These sessions allow teams to tune the car to the circuit and prepare for Saturday qualifying and race day.  The practice sessions are a good sign of form but the drivers only truely go all out in qualifying so their could still be surprises to come.

Practice One 12:30 – 14:00

The Ferrari’s were out in force during much of the first practice with Kimi Raikkonen holding the fastest time but towards the end of the session both Williams cars took to the top of the times lead by Nico Rosberg with a time of 1min 26.687secs.  There were problems, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel suffered a breakdown just 13 minutes into the session and had to pull over at the side of the track.

Both Brawn GP cars put in strong times with Rubens Barrichello leading the team finishing 4th with a time of 1min 27.226secs.  Jenson Button achieved 6th with a time of 1min 27.467secs.

Rubens Barrichello testing the Brawn GP01

Noticeably absent from the  top of the times was current world champion Lewis Hamilton.  McLaren have struggled with the change in rules regarding the design of the car and Lewis Hamilton ended the practice session in 16th position well off the pace with a time of 1min 29.042secs.  In fact Lewis Hamilton stated on the team radio that “The car’s bottoming out, I can barely see the marker boards,” unaware that he was being broadcast to the public.

Australian Grand Prix free practice session one

1. Nico Rosberg (Williams) 1:26.687
2. Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) 1:26.736
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:26.750
4. Rubens Barrichello (Brawn) 1:27.226
5. Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) 1:27.453
6. Jenson Button (Brawn) 1:27.467
7. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:27.642
8. Timo Glock (Toyota) 1:27.710
9. Adrian Sutil (Force India) 1:27.993
10. Fernando Alonso (Renault) 1:28.123
11. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) 1:28.137
12. Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 1:28.142
13. Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) 1:28.511
14. Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India) 1:28.603
15. Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) 1:28.785
16. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1:29.042
17. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:29.081
18. Nelson Piquet Jr. (Renault) 1:29.461
19. Sebasien Bourdais (Toro Rosso) 1:29.499
20. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1:32.784

Practice Two 16:30 – 18:00

Session Two was dominated by Williams, Brawn and Toyota.  Three teams all with one thing in common.  They were the teams that were accused of an illegal diffuser on their cars.  Although this appeal cleared them it remains to be seen whether their performance will cause other teams to fight further or to redesign their own cars.  Nico Rosberg once again led the way finishing fastest for Practice Two.  He was closely followed by Rubens Barrichello for Brawn GP.

The end result saw tight times with only two seconds separating the first to last cars.  While 2 seconds can be a lifetime in Formula one this is only practice and the teams are testing different car and fuel set ups.  Will the times be the same way round in qualifying?

Australian Grand Prix free practice session Two

1. Nico Rosberg (Williams) 1:26.053
2. Rubens Barrichello (Brawn) 1:26.157
2. Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 1:26.350
4. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:26.370
5. Jenson Button (Brawn) 1:26.374
6. Timo Glock (Toyota) 1:26.443
7. Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) 1:26.560
8. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1:26.740
9. Adrian Sutil (Force India) 1:27.040
10. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:27.064
11. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:27.204
12. Fernando Alonso (Renault) 1:27.232
13. Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India) 1:27.282
14. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) 1:27.317
15. Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) 1:27.398
16. Sebasien Bourdais (Toro Rosso) 1:27.479
17. Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) 1:27.802
18. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1:27.813
19. Nelson Piquet Jr. (Renault) 1:27.828
20. Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) 1:28.076