Red Bulls fly in Japanese opening practice

Deemed as favorites for the Japanese Grand Prix, the Red Bulls dominated the opening practice hence confirming their strength on the challenging Suzuka circuit.

The session was held in dry conditions and will have brought some valuable data to the teams, as rain is forecasted for Saturday.

Sebastian Vettel largely set the pace in this first 90-minute practice session, clocking a best time in 1’32’’585. His teammate Mark Webber was 2nd fastest, 0.048s down on the German.

Robert Kubica was the only one to come close to the Red Bull drivers, although he was half a second slower. The Pole’s third place still meant there were three Renault-powered cars at the top of the timesheets.

It was a difficult opening session for McLaren as Lewis Hamilton crashed halfway through it and heavily damaged the front left suspension of his car. Disaster almost struck for the British team when Jenson Button ran very wide through the first part of the double Degner corner but luckily avoided the tyre barrier.

Hamilton still finished in fifth place, 1.058s down on the leading Red Bull. Despite a hydraulics issue which lost him some time, Adrian Sutil set the fourth fastest time for Force India.

There were also problems for Nico Rosberg. The Mercedes driver completed only nine laps and ended 10th fastest. His teammate Michael Schumacher was in 8th place, behind the Williams Cosworth of Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg.

Nick Heidfeld took 9th for Sauber.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa ended just outside the top ten. He went slightly fastest than championship contenders Button and Alonso. Tipped as one of the favorites, the Spaniard lapped 1.5s slower than the Red Bulls.

Apart from the Red Bulls and Kubica, the field was really close. Less than 1.5s separated 4th-placed Sutil from 17th-placed Sébastien Buemi.