Free 1: McLaren’s fastest in Melbourne

After months of anticipation, the 2012 season finally got underway at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit as FP1 started in damp conditions. It was a slow start as the teams tentatively took to the track on Pirelli’s new Cinturato wet tyres, with Nico Rosberg and Nico Hulkenberg even opting for full wets at the beginning.

Heavy rain fell overnight at the Albert Park circuit, and continued intermittently throughout the morning presenting the drivers’ with a damp track as the first track event of 2012 got underway. First out on the intermediate tyres was French rookie Jean-Eric Vergne, who was quickly joined by his team-mate at Toro Rosso Daniel Ricciardo.

Nico Rosberg pushed his Mercedes to the limit early, running wide at turn 11. At one of the fastest parts of the track, this could’ve been a much worse mistake for the German and was lucky to escape unscathed as the Mercedes trundled over the grass.

As the majority of the field completed their installation laps, local driver Daniel Ricciardo set the first timed lap of the weekend with a 01:47.448, and was quickly joined at the top by team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne. The two happily swapped fastest laps before the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso spoiled their fun.

The misery continued for Spanish outfit HRT, as Narain Karthikeyan’s car ground to a halt on track. It was later discovered the car was suffering from an oil pressure sensor failure, which will create further problems for HRT who are undeniably struggling to get their cars working for 2012.

Lotus were also suffering from issues, as returning World Champion Kimi Raikkonen once again suffered with steering issues, limiting the Iceman’s running throughout the session.

As the track began to dry, Nico Rosberg went fastest with 01:37.147, which was quickly beaten by the Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi who set a 01:36.906. With the track obviously ready for dry tyres, Sauber’s Sergio Perez was the first driver to brave the track on dry Pirelli’s. His team-mate, Kobayashi, quickly copied him and posted a time five seconds faster with a 01:31.751.

Mark Webber then became the first driver from the sharp end of the grid to set a true fastest lap, as the Australian driver set a 01:30.520. The luxury of being fastest didn’t last long for Webber, as Kobayashi returned to the top once again, becoming the first driver to set a time within the 01:29s with a 01:29.722.

Several drivers’ spun during FP1, with rookie Jean-Eric Vergne running wide at turn 15 and running down the escape road. However, the most surprising action from the first practice session was from Felipe Massa, who embedded his Ferrari in gravel after spinning at turn 9. The Brazilian dipped a wheel on the grass, and lost control of the car. This prompted several shakes of the head from the Ferrari pit.

As the session came to a close, Mercedes power took over as Michael Schumacher went fastest before 2009 World Champion Jenson Button topped the timing sheets with a 01:27.560. Button’s team-mate at McLaren, Lewis Hamilton then slotted into 2nd place, creating a McLaren 1-2 as the opening session of the 2012 season came to a close.

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