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The opening
Friday practice session for the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix would commence with
Kobayashi and D'Ambrosio coming out first, followed by Di Resta. Liuzzi,
Buemi, Ricciardo and Karthikeyan would also head out for their installation
laps. Button and Alonso would also come out followed by more and more
drivers, including the likes of Vettel, Button, Alonso, Rosberg, and Petrov.
With about fifteen minutes of the session run AT&T Williams driver Rubens
Barrichello would take to the track. The Williams team had several new parts
that they wanted to test during the Friday practice sessions. Karthikeyan would set the first time
with a 1m:51.516. Liuzzi would set a 1m:48.923 to be second as Karthikeyan
improved with a 1m:48.042. Rubens would set a 2m:04.278 as he completed some
aero tests. Kobayashi would go fastest with a lap of 1m:45.609. Liuzzi would
improve his time with a 1m:46.825 to be second.
But ti would be Hamilton who would set the first serious lap time with a
1m:42.306. Button would move into second as Webber and the Ferrari's came
out for their first runs. Webber would go third with a 1m:42.677 while
Hamilton would improve with a 1m:41.092. Massa was now third with a
1m:42.374 while Webber would go fastest with a 1m:40.93.
Pastor Maldonado would come out for his first runs on the Shanghai circuit.
Pastor would set a time that would see him seventh but his next lap,
1m:44.692, would see him fifth. So after thirty minutes of the session
Webber would continue to be fastest from Hamilton, Button, and Massa. Webber
would lower the quickest time with a 1m:40.055 while team-mate Vettel would
come out to set a time.
Vettel's first time would see him eighth with a 1m:44.838 as Buemi moved up
to fifth with a 1m:42.317. This would see Pastor drop down one spot.
Vettel's next lap would see him third with a lap time of 1m:40.922. Massa
was now fourth from Perez and Pastor. Rubens had pitted without improving on
his slow two minute lap time. He was now sixteenth as Di Resta moved up to
seventh, 1m:41.922. We had yet to see times from either Renault of Mercedes
cars. Pastor would pit, currently in tenth.
Webber would also come in as Hulkenberg would move up to fifth, 1m:41.494.
Lotus Friday driver Razia would damage the front wheel and left wheel
touring slowly back to the pits. Vettel would find time moving up to second
with a 1m:40.193. Both Mercedes cars and Petrov were now out on the track as
Vettel's next lap would see him fastest with a 1m:39.540 to be 0.515 ahead
of Webber.
Rosberg's first lap would see him thirteenth with a 1m:43.064. Kovalainen
would move up to seventh with a 1m:41.579 as Hamilton returned to the track.
The second Mercedes of Schumacher was down in fifteenth as Button set a
1m:40.940 to be fourth. Vettel had pitted but would return to the track,
joined by Webber. Vettel would continue to set the pace with a 1m:38.739 and
on his next lap a 1m:38.886. Weber would improve slightly with a 1m:39.924
but was now 1.1 seconds slower than his team-mate Hamilton was in third but
over two seconds slower than Vettel.
Heidfeld would move his Renault up to seventh with a 1m:41.431. Webber would
set a 1m:39.354 to reduce the gap to Vettel down to 0.615 seconds. For
Heidfeld his session would come to a stop when he was to spin his car
crashing the nose against the barrier at Turn ten. Both AT&T Williams cars
had returned to the track with Rubens moving up to twelfth with a 1mL41.939.
Pastor's best time was a 1m:42.105 seeing him down in fourteenth. Pastor
would pit again as Rubens continued to put in extra laps.
Rubens would also pit with around twenty minutes of the session remaining.
Both Red Bull's were also back in their pits with Vettel fastest from
Hamilton, Button, Heidfeld, Massa, Perez, Hulkenberg, Kovalainen, and Di
Resta in tenth. Rubens and Pastor had dropped down the order to be
thirteenth and fifteenth. Rosberg had moved up to eleventh but Schumacher
was down in seventeenth.
Alonso and Glock had yet to set times but Alonso had completed ten
installation laps. Webber and Hamilton were back out on the track with just
over fifteen minutes remaining. Alonso was also out for his first timed lap
setting a 1m:42.464 to be seventeenth but his next lap would see him s et a
1m:41.434 to go tenth fastest. Rubens was also out on the track joined by
Pastor. Pastor would find a considerable amount of time moving up to eighth
with a 1m:41.222. But his session would come to an end as he would beach his
car on the kerb at Turn five after spinning his car.
Rubens was now fifteenth as Vettel returned to the track. Rosberg was in
ninth, 1m:41.361 with ten minutes left in the session. Rubens would drop to
seventeenth as the session came to an end. He was over three seconds slower
than the quickest time of Vettel. Pastors car had been removed by tractor
after a considerable delay. Liuzzi would spin at Turn two right near the end
of the session.
Pastor would end the session still in eighth which was encouraging for the
Venezuelan on his first visit to the Shanghai circuit in an F1 car, despite
his mistake. Rubens was down in seventeenth but the team had been testing
new parts so his pace is hard to gauge. |
