Originally Posted by HIChief:
I started watching F1 last season. There were some real good races that went right down to the wire. You never knew who was going to win, what with tires and fuel management being major factors. Yeah, I'm looking forward to this season, especially if the Chiefs lay another egg. And, thanks for posting the schedule.
No problem. Last season was awesome. I think we're in for something similar due to the planned tire degradation making most of the races 2 stoppers at least. [Reply]
If any of you have the chance to attend the US race this year, do it. I went to the innuagral race last year and it was a blast. They had everything really well organized. Should only get better. [Reply]
Originally Posted by :
nfiniti Red Bull Racings Sebastian Vettel topped the time sheets in the second Friday practice session for the Australian Grand Prix.
Vettel, who was also quickest in first practice, set the pace with an afternoon lap time of 1m25.908s, 0.264 seconds ahead of the team mate Mark Webber.
Mercedes Nico Rosberg finished third despite hitting problems in the final minutes of the session, which resulted in both Rosberg and Hamilton stopping on track with a suspected gearbox failure.
As expected, tyre degradation played a factor in the afternoon practice session, causing a late-session spin for Webber who slid sideways and backwards down the track after losing grip on the exit of Turn 13. Lap times on the short runs also dropped off dramatically after the first flying laps.
Results for the Friday practice sessions are as follows:
Pos. No. Driver Car Best lap Gap Laps
1 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Renault 125.908 33
2 2 Mark Webber Red Bull Renault 126.172 0.264 31
3 9 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 126.322 0.414 26
4 7 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus Renault 126.361 0.453 38
5 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus Renault 126.680 0.772 32
6 3 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 126.748 0.840 35
7 10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 126.772 0.864 28
8 4 Felipe Massa Ferrari 126.855 0.947 32
9 15 Adrian Sutil Force India Mercedes 127.435 1.527 35
10 11 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber Ferrari 128.187 2.279 34
11 5 Jenson Button McLaren 128.294 2.386 30
12 14 Paul di Resta Force India Mercedes 128.311 2.403 37
13 6 Sergio Perez McLaren 128.566 2.658 33
14 19 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso Ferrari 128.627 2.719 31
15 12 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber Ferrari 128.772 2.864 33
16 16 Pastor Maldonado Williams Renault 128.852 2.944 36
17 18 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso Ferrari 128.968 3.060 36
18 17 Valtteri Bottas Williams Renault 129.386 3.478 39
19 22 Jules Bianchi Marussia Cosworth 129.696 3.788 32
20 20 Charles Pic Caterham Renault 130.165 4.257 37
21 23 Max Chilton Marussia Cosworth 130.600 4.692 36
22 21 Giedo van der Garde Caterham Renault 132.450 6.542 11
Wow. Kimi might have advantage unless his car fails.
I like Kimi - He is the epitome of awesome. The guy is simply a massive driving talent. He gets into any car, is instinctive and gets up to speed with everything quicker than anyone else. Kimi was on his way to NASCAR last year.
Kimi Raikkonen wins season-opening Australian Grand Prix
Raikkonen held off Ferrari's Fernando Alonso of Spain and German Red Bull
world champion Sebastian Vettel at the chequered flag. Raikkonen coasted
to the finish line and beat Alonso by 12.4secs with Vettel a further 9.8secs
away in third.