2015 Australian Grand Prix Friday - Practice
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Romain Grosjean leaves the pits for Lotus. He lost most of the morning having the floor changed on his car.
The Saubers are back in the pits,as Kimi Raikkonen brings the Ferrari out.
Hulkenberg observes that it "looks pretty gusty out there", and he's told in response that the wind speed is up 5km/h from this morning's session.
Ericsson reports "a really strange feeling on the brakes" into Turn 1 on his outlap.
Marcus Ericsson takes to the track too. Just the two Saubers running so far.
BEN ANDERSON: "Both McLarens should be out for this session. The team discovered a problem with air intake on the engines in FP1 and have replaced them for FP2.
"But it's unlikely we'll see the Manor/Marussias out today. The team is still working through the electrical software and computing problems that confined its cars to the garage this morning."
"But it's unlikely we'll see the Manor/Marussias out today. The team is still working through the electrical software and computing problems that confined its cars to the garage this morning."
This time Sauber is running, and Felipe Nasr is first out.
Green flag
The green light is on and the session begins.
Twitter
More on Ricciardo's situation from Red Bull:
"Not the start we were hoping for with an engine change for Daniel - the Team are doing their best to get him out this session"
"Not the start we were hoping for with an engine change for Daniel - the Team are doing their best to get him out this session"
Breaking news
Bad news for Daniel Ricciardo, his Red Bull needs a change of Renault engine.
Ten minutes to go until free practice running resumes in Melbourne.
Earlier today it was a case of two closely-matched and dominant Mercedes a second clear up front, ahead of a pack in which Williams, Ferrari, Toro Rosso and Lotus were mixed up.
Red Bull had some troubles, Force India is still making up for lost time, McLaren continues to hit stumbling blocks, Sauber stayed in the garage amid its legal tussle (and LAWRENCE BARRETTO is at the court for us this afternoon) with Garde van der Garde, and Manor is still completing the process of reviving an F1 team that went into administration - which today, on a practical level, means trying to get its software back in gear so it can run its interim car.
Earlier today it was a case of two closely-matched and dominant Mercedes a second clear up front, ahead of a pack in which Williams, Ferrari, Toro Rosso and Lotus were mixed up.
Red Bull had some troubles, Force India is still making up for lost time, McLaren continues to hit stumbling blocks, Sauber stayed in the garage amid its legal tussle (and LAWRENCE BARRETTO is at the court for us this afternoon) with Garde van der Garde, and Manor is still completing the process of reviving an F1 team that went into administration - which today, on a practical level, means trying to get its software back in gear so it can run its interim car.
Here's BEN ANDERSON's full report from that session, plus the complete results rundown:
Rosberg pips Hamilton as Mercedes dominates
We'll be back for full live coverage of practice two in a little under two and a half hours, with the next session due to start at 5.30am UK time. See you then.
Rosberg pips Hamilton as Mercedes dominates
We'll be back for full live coverage of practice two in a little under two and a half hours, with the next session due to start at 5.30am UK time. See you then.
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, Australian GP 2015, Melbourne
So an intriguing start to Formula 1 in 2015, here's a quick recap of the session with AUTOSPORT's full report to follow.
- Rosberg tops the session with a 1m29.557s.
- Manor and Sauber fail to do any running during the session.
- McLaren forced to end session early thanks to problems with its power unit.
- Ricciardo is the first driver to spin in 2015, but no trips into the gravel trap for any drivers.
- Brilliant debut for Toro Rosso rookies Sainz Jr and Verstappen, fourth and sixth respectively.
- Rosberg tops the session with a 1m29.557s.
- Manor and Sauber fail to do any running during the session.
- McLaren forced to end session early thanks to problems with its power unit.
- Ricciardo is the first driver to spin in 2015, but no trips into the gravel trap for any drivers.
- Brilliant debut for Toro Rosso rookies Sainz Jr and Verstappen, fourth and sixth respectively.
Followed by:
11 Kvyat
12 Perez
13 Hulkenberg
14 Button
15 Magnussen
16 Grosjean
11 Kvyat
12 Perez
13 Hulkenberg
14 Button
15 Magnussen
16 Grosjean
So the session finished, here's your top 10:
1 Rosberg
2 Hamilton
3 Bottas
4 Sainz Jr
5 Vettel
6 Verstappen
7 Massa
8 Raikkonen
9 Maldonado
10 Ricciardo
1 Rosberg
2 Hamilton
3 Bottas
4 Sainz Jr
5 Vettel
6 Verstappen
7 Massa
8 Raikkonen
9 Maldonado
10 Ricciardo
Couldn't entirely tell what a breathless Verstappen was saying on the radio there, but he wasn't the biggest fan of the set-up Toro Rosso had for its last run, we reckon.
Quote
"OK Lewis, you've taken the flag so just watch out for the victual safety car," Mercedes tells the champion.
Lotus managed to get Grosjean's car repaired just in time for him to re-emerge from the pits but he won't set a flying lap.
Checkered flag
And the chequered flag comes out on this Mercedes-dominated session.
Late improvements from the Ferraris - Vettel goes fifth, Raikkonen eighth.
After a long hold in the Williams pit (or was it in slow-motion camera...?), Bottas bursts out in sideways, tyre-smoking fashion.
Frantic discussion in the McLaren garage, no doubt trying to solve the mechanical issue with its power-unit which ended its session early.
"So Nico, a little bit more fuel-saving than that, please," Mercedes asks. Race-prep mode already for the pacesetter.
No one looking like improving at present, though.
Everyone now out bar Ricciardo, Grosjean, McLaren, Sauber and Manor. That's as busy as the track is likely to get today.
Massa improves to sixth, nipping ahead of Maldonado by 0.034s.
Twitter
McLaren confirms its session is over:
"We've brought the curtain down early on our #FP1 running to check over a small mechanical issue with a power-unit component. #AusGP."
"We've brought the curtain down early on our #FP1 running to check over a small mechanical issue with a power-unit component. #AusGP."
Bottas, Maldonado, Massa and Perez are also out again long with the Toro Rossos and Hamilton for a potential late flurry.
Twitter
Hamilton is set to return to the track according to Mercedes:
"We hear a rumble from the @LewisHamilton-mobile... #F1DownUnder #F1."
"We hear a rumble from the @LewisHamilton-mobile... #F1DownUnder #F1."
Slow-motion pit camera topic latest: slow-motion Carmen Jorda standing still, slow-motion Nico Rosberg waggles his fingers thoughtfully.
And as we typed that lap count, its leaders Sainz and Verstappen rejoined the circuit.
No one on track at the moment, so good time for a lap count:
Sainz 20
Verstappen 19
Perez 14
Maldonado 13
Bottas 12
Hulkenberg 12
Kvyat 12
Rosberg 11
Hamilton 9
Ricciardo 9
Massa 9
Raikkonen 8
Vettel 7
Button 6
Magnussen 7
Grosjean 2
Ericsson/Nasr/Stevens/Merhi: 0
Sainz 20
Verstappen 19
Perez 14
Maldonado 13
Bottas 12
Hulkenberg 12
Kvyat 12
Rosberg 11
Hamilton 9
Ricciardo 9
Massa 9
Raikkonen 8
Vettel 7
Button 6
Magnussen 7
Grosjean 2
Ericsson/Nasr/Stevens/Merhi: 0
The track is quiet with many drivers out of their cars in the pits.
One of those is Romain Grosjean - yet to set a time - chatting to and smiling at his engineers.
One of those is Romain Grosjean - yet to set a time - chatting to and smiling at his engineers.
Twitter
More expert analysis from Renault via Twitter, as it looks to address driveability issues mentioned by home-favourite Daniel Ricciardo earlier:
"Driveability is related to engine mapping to avoid any lag between the driver putting his foot on the gas and the engine kicking in..."
"Driveability is related to engine mapping to avoid any lag between the driver putting his foot on the gas and the engine kicking in..."
Leading laptimes during this quieter moment:
1 Rosberg 1m29.557s
2 Hamilton 1m29.586s
3 Bottas 1m30.748s
4 Sainz 1m31.014s
5 Verstappen 1m31.067s
6 Maldonado 1m31.451s
7 Vettel 1m31.510s
8 Raikkonen 1m31.557s
9 Ricciardo 1m31.570s
10 Massa 1m31.836s
1 Rosberg 1m29.557s
2 Hamilton 1m29.586s
3 Bottas 1m30.748s
4 Sainz 1m31.014s
5 Verstappen 1m31.067s
6 Maldonado 1m31.451s
7 Vettel 1m31.510s
8 Raikkonen 1m31.557s
9 Ricciardo 1m31.570s
10 Massa 1m31.836s
Ron Dennis has now wandered over to join Button and Magnussen's conversation. The two McLarens remain up on stands in the garage.
Bottas improves his final-sector time but stays third on a 1m30.748s overall.
Button and Magnussen are chatting in the McLaren pits. They've done six and seven laps so far (the Toro Rossos lead the count on 19 each) and are 4.9s and 5.2s off the pace.
Got some new slow-motion cameras in the pitlane for this year, but the choice of topics isn't the most thrilling so far. Cars exiting the garage, OK, fair enough. Slow-motion tyre warmer removal and slow-motion Vettel rubbing his forehead... not so keen.
Ricciardo improves to ninth, 2s off the pace.
By: AUTOSPORT staff, Jack Benyon, Ben Anderson, Glenn Freeman
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