2011 Australian Grand Prix Friday practice two
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17 min: Hamilton improves through the middle part of the lap, edging the benchmark out to a 1m26.961s.
16 min: Rosberg ultimately goes second with a time of 1m27.448s, behind current pacesetter Hamilton.
15 min: Nico Rosberg is set to move up from an early ninth position, as he hustles the Mercedes round, but he catches traffic in the final corner ..
14 min: Schumacher returned to the pits after just two timed laps. Sutil completed three timed laps on his first run, while Alguersuari managed eight.
13 min: Button is up to second quickest with a 1m27.575s, demoting Massa to third.
12 min: Hamilton sets the new benchmark at 1m27.056s, despite some spectacular moments on his lap.
12 min: Spots of rain 10 minutes ago, but now bright sunshine over the circuit. Melbourne is certainly living up to its 'four seasons in one day' tag today.
11 min: Michael Schumacher is the next man to top the times with 1m27.979s. Button is now second with Alonso third, Massa fourth and Buemi fifth.
10 min: Alonso briefly tops the order before Button takes over at the head of the times.
9 min: Meantime, Sutil has moved to head the list with a lap of 1m30.032s.
9 min: Vettel then asks if the team wants him to use the moveable rear wing. He is told that he can use it for overtaking only if he desires, but only on the main straight.
8 min: Vettel is advised urgently to use KERS on his first flying lap in the session. He crosses the line in 1m32.788s to go fifth so far.
8 min: Both Ferraris are now on track, as are the pair of McLarens.
7 min: Perez has shaken out on top of the initial set of times with a lap of 1m30.660s.
7 min: Buemi manages 1m31.643s on his first effort to go second behind Perez.
6 min: Trulli is getting comfortable in his Lotus. The Italian has a Japanese-themed helmet with messages of support for the earthquake-hit country
6 min: More drivers are out on track for a first run. Among them is Webber, Vettel, Barrichello and Schumacher.
5 min: Sebastien Buemi and Paul di Resta join the early action, as Alguersuari posts 1m40.871s to slot in behind Perez.
5 min: Glock is told by his Virgin team that no more rain is expected.
3 min: Alguersuari crosses the line to begin his first timed lap and will be hoping not to make the same error as the rookie.
3 min: Perez finds the track lacking in grip as he arrives at Turn 3, taking to the popular run-off and grass beyond before continuing.
2 min: The FIA is planning a test of the movable rear wing system in its race mode for the final part of this session.
1 min: Jaime Alguersuari joins Perez on the circuit.
1 min: Perez heads out in his Sauber and the Mexican is the first man on track this afternoon.
1 min: The local radar shows a small cluster of light showers in the vacinity. These heavier clouds should pass over reasonably quickly.
0 min: The practice session is underway.
Light spots of rain are falling over the circuit as we approach the start of the session.
Karun Chandhok suffered an unfortunate start to his Friday testing role at Lotus with an off on his first lap earlier today. Jarno Trulli will slot into his race seat in the repaired Lotus for this session.
Nico Hulkenberg makes way for Paul di Resta at Force India after completing a healthy 20 laps earlier today, while at Toro Rosso, Jaime Alguersuari will climb aboard his race car having watched the progress of Australian talent Daniel Ricciardo earlier on.
Nico Hulkenberg makes way for Paul di Resta at Force India after completing a healthy 20 laps earlier today, while at Toro Rosso, Jaime Alguersuari will climb aboard his race car having watched the progress of Australian talent Daniel Ricciardo earlier on.
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Weather conditions have continued to improve since the end of first practice. Several patches of blue sky have appeared as the cloudbase begins to break up slowly over Melbourne.
However, that doesn't necessarily guarantee a fully dry session ahead. The local radar continues to pick up small shower cells moving along the coast, so a rogue shower cannot be ruled out. But, on the whole, we should be set for a dry session with any light showers just missing the circuit.
A strong southerly airflow is keeping air temperature down, with the maximum reaching 18.5 Celsius earlier this afternoon.
However, that doesn't necessarily guarantee a fully dry session ahead. The local radar continues to pick up small shower cells moving along the coast, so a rogue shower cannot be ruled out. But, on the whole, we should be set for a dry session with any light showers just missing the circuit.
A strong southerly airflow is keeping air temperature down, with the maximum reaching 18.5 Celsius earlier this afternoon.
Melbourne
Formula 1 2011 is finally underway and the first practice session for the Australian Grand Prix showed that a few cans of Red Bull can go a long way when you want to make a mark on the new campaign.
The champion team has started this season as it ended last - at the top of the pile, but it is far too early at this stage to declare outright dominance within the sport. Both Ferrari and Mercedes demonstrated pace at Albert Park and it will be interesting to see how the dynamics of the pecking order move over the course of the weekend.
Now it's time for more serious running and testing in the second 90-minute practice session, as the pace hots up ahead of Sunday's 58-lap race.
By: Emlyn Hughes, Geoff Creighton
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