Formula 1: Australia Grand Prix Friday Practice Wrap Up

Formula 1: Australia Grand Prix Friday Practice Wrap Up

An interesting day indeed as the Formula One circus fired up their engines for the official start of the 2014 season in Australia. As drivers and teams alike continue to learn new aspects of their cars performance, the pecking order is slowly starting to reveal itself.

By Miles Downard14 March 20144 min read

An interesting day indeed as the Formula One circus fired up their engines for the official start of the 2014 season in Australia. As drivers and teams alike continue to learn new aspects of their cars performance, the pecking order is slowly starting to reveal itself.

Australia Grand Prix

Pre-season testing pegged Mercedes as the team to beat; hell Christian Horner went as far as to say that he wouldn’t be surprised if a Merc won the season opener by two laps. Day 1 in Australia seemed to ultimately confirm their competitiveness, but not without a hiccup in Practice 1 when an oil sensor fault on Lewis’ W05 caused his engine to shut down. The team were unable to get the car back in time for a repair; meaning Lewis went into Practice 2 without completing a flying lap.

In the end though, the Mercedes’ drivers marched home with the two fastest laps of the day and without further glitches. Nico Rosberg was 0.157 seconds slower than his teammate.

F1-Australia-2014

Williams also showed promise in pre-season testing; and for the first time in a long while there have been a few F1 pundits backing the Grove based outfit. The Bottas-Massa pairing fared well, ending P1 in 3rd and 4th respectively. P2 saw the team focus efforts on the harder compound tyre.

Ferrari were the first team out on track this morning; Fernando Alonso claiming the honour of kicking off the new era of Formula One. The Spaniard fortuitously claimed top spot in P1 after trading fastest laps with McLaren’s Jenson Button. Kimi Raikkonen suffered a few technical glitches, but looked typically disinterested throughout the whole affair, ending 9th and 7th respectively.

Surprisingly enough Red Bull, who completed more distance travelling to and from the hotel than on track during pre-season testing, looked to have made a fair deal of progress with their reliability issues. Maybe not so surprisingly the RB10 was pretty quick when everything fell into place.

Further down the pack it was McLaren, Force India and Toro Rosso who were busiest, completing the most laps across the two sessions.

By the end of P2, only 19 drivers managed to set a competitive time; Kamui Kobayashi’s Caterham was unable to leave the garage due to a “power unit-related fuel system issue”; team-mate Marcus Ericsson was at least able to get onto the circuit, but returned swiftly thanks to a hydraulics problem on his installation lap.

Pastor Maldonado left the garage in his Lotus, but only just as he stopped in the pitlane with a suspected ERS problem. This rounded off an awful day for Lotus as Romain Grosjean was second slowest overall and ploughed his E22 into a wall.

Formula 1

Practice 1 Results:

Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps

1

Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m31.840s

20

2

Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.357s +0.517s

23

3

Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1m32.403s +0.563s

27

4

Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1m32.431s +0.591s

19

5

Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1m32.599s +0.759s

26

6

Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m32.604s +0.764s

17

7

Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m32.793s +0.953s

10

8

Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.847s +1.007s

28

9

Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m32.977s +1.137s

18

10

Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault 1m33.446s +1.606s

30

11

Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m33.533s +1.693s

23

12

Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1m33.855s +2.015s

24

13

Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault 1m34.272s +2.432s

27

14

Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m35.578s +3.738s

7

15

Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1m36.445s +4.605s

13

16

Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1m40.859s +9.019s

6

17

Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 1m46.922s +15.082s

4

18

Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault

1

19

Lewis Hamilton Mercedes

1

20

Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault

1

21

Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault

2

22

Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault

Practice 2 Results:

Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps

1

Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m29.625s

37

2

Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m29.782s +0.157s

31

3

Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m30.132s +0.507s

28

4

Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m30.381s +0.756s

41

5

Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m30.510s +0.885s

33

6

Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1m30.538s +0.913s

38

7

Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m30.898s +1.273s

32

8

Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1m30.920s +1.295s

38

9

Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 1m31.031s +1.406s

34

10

Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m31.054s +1.429s

33

11

Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault 1m31.060s +1.435s

35

12

Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1m31.119s +1.494s

31

13

Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1m31.283s +1.658s

36

14

Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.355s +2.730s

36

15

Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.468s +2.843s

26

16

Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault 1m32.495s +2.870s

36

17

Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1m33.486s +3.861s

29

18

Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m33.646s +4.021s

12

19

Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 1m34.757s +5.132s

29

20

Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault

1

21

Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault

22

Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault

Comments

Sign in to comment.Sign in

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.

Mercedes-Benz Electrifies Tradition at The 152nd Open
38
0
ArticleJuly 16, 2024

Mercedes-Benz Electrifies Tradition at The 152nd Open

Mercedes-Benz Electrifies The 152nd Open with Iconic Tradition and Innovation Stuttgart/Troon. Mercedes-Benz marks the commencement of The 152nd Open in a spectacular manner: before the first tee-off, the defending champion ceremoniously returns the renowned Claret Jug in a Mercedes-Benz vehicle. Brian Harman, the victor of The 151st Open, drove to Troon this year in the […]

P1 Fuels Mercedes-Benz Classic
14
0
ArticleJune 20, 2023

P1 Fuels Mercedes-Benz Classic

Brescia, Italy, 20 June 2023 In a historic milestone for the automotive industry and the world of historic car enthusiasts, a Mercedes-Benz SSK, three Mercedes-Benz SL300 Gullwings, an Alfa Romeo 6C Gasogene and a pre-war 4.5-litre Bentley successfully completed the renowned Mille Miglia on 100% synthetic, carbon-neutral fuel supplied by P1 Fuels, without any modifications. […]

Every 2015 Mercedes-Benz racing champion at Stars & Cars in Stuttgart
11
0
ArticleNovember 9, 2015

Every 2015 Mercedes-Benz racing champion at Stars & Cars in Stuttgart

Every 2015 Mercedes-Benz racing champion at Stars & Cars in Stuttgart Mercedes-Benz will celebrate its most successful ever motorsport year at Stars & Cars 2015 in the Mercedes-Benz Arena Stuttgart Real racing action with 15 races and five special contests on a specially built track in the Mercedes-Benz Arena Stuttgart All the Mercedes-Benz Formula One […]

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 in the Barcelona 24-hour race
7
0
ArticleSeptember 10, 2015

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 in the Barcelona 24-hour race

Barcelona (ESP). AMG Customer Sports Team HP Racing claimed the overall win in the 24-hour race in Barcelona. The team, led by principal Harald Proczyk (AUT), took the checkered flag as the winners after 662 laps. For the team, this is the first victory in an international endurance race. With second and third place, AMG […]

2015 Italian Grand Prix – Practice
6
0
ArticleSeptember 4, 2015

2015 Italian Grand Prix – Practice

Double top for the Silver Arrows on opening day in Monza! Lewis topped the times in both practice sessions with Nico finishing second in each Both F1 W06 Hybrids ran new Power Units – their third of the season Both cars ran the prime (medium) tyre in P1, the prime and option (soft) in P2

Mercedes-AMG DTM Team present 2016 race car
6
0
ArticleSeptember 4, 2015

Mercedes-AMG DTM Team present 2016 race car

Looking ahead to the 2016 season: How the new DTM car fielded by the Mercedes-AMG DTM Team will look Inspired by the DTM: AMG launch Edition 1 Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupé Five questions to Head of Mercedes-AMG DTM Ulrich Fritz Overview: How Mercedes-Benz DTM vehicles have evolved Ulrich Fritz: “Our aim with this vehicle is, […]

Mercedes-AMG DTM Team present first outlines of 2016 race car
6
2,687
ArticleAugust 29, 2015

Mercedes-AMG DTM Team present first outlines of 2016 race car

Looking ahead to the 2016 season: How the new DTM car fielded by the Mercedes-AMG DTM Team will look Ulrich Fritz: “Our aim with this vehicle is, of course, to continue the Mercedes-Benz success story in the DTM.” The 2015 DTM season reaches its climax in September. But even before the final race weekends of […]

2015 Bahrain Grand Prix – Ferrari Race Results
13
0
ArticleApril 20, 2015

2015 Bahrain Grand Prix – Ferrari Race Results

RAIKKONEN USES ALTERNATIVE TWO-STOP STRATEGY TO CLAIM SECOND PLACE ON PENULTIMATE LAP AND CHALLENGE FOR THE LEAD The spectacular Bahrain Grand Prix, held under lights in the evening with falling track and ambient temperatures, provided a high-speed tactical battle, during which drivers chose an assortment of two-stop and three-stop strategies.

Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 in Chinese Grand Prix with Nico Rosberg second at Shanghai International Circuit
6
20,246
ArticleApril 13, 2015

Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 in Chinese Grand Prix with Nico Rosberg second at Shanghai International Circuit

What more can anyone ask than winning any Grand Prix? Making it a 1-2 for your team… That is exactly what Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg did in the Chinese Grand Prix by sticking to their grid positions and with a faultless 2-stop strategy in clear and dry conditions.

2015 Malaysian Grand Prix – Race
5
0
ArticleMarch 29, 2015

2015 Malaysian Grand Prix – Race

Double podium for MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS in enthralling Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit Lewis and Nico claimed a second consecutive double podium today, finishing P2 and P3 respectively Both drivers made clean starts to hold station in P1 / P3, only to then lose track position in the pits following the emergence […]

Mercedes-AMG and MV Agusta DTM Racing
5
0
ArticleMarch 24, 2015

Mercedes-AMG and MV Agusta DTM Racing

The cooperation between Mercedes-AMG und MV Agusta is now set to extend to the racetrack Maximilian Götz to make his DTM debut in an MV Agusta-branded Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Two racing legends for the price of one: Mercedes-AMG will welcome Italian motorcycle brand MV Agusta into the DTM fold for the 2015 season. The […]

Mercedes-Benz Enters Four Teams in the 25th Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles
5
0
ArticleMarch 23, 2015

Mercedes-Benz Enters Four Teams in the 25th Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles

Mercedes-Benz Vans is the defending champion in the crossover category Some 2,500 km of challenging off-road navigation through the Moroccan desert The silver-anniversary edition of the rally for women will begin on March 24 Four German and four American drivers will compete for Mercedes-Benz in two new Vito 119 CDI 4×4 models and two Sprinter […]