[ Watch Kimi’s first timed lap from FP1 here ]
PRACTICE TWO
REPORT: Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen were third and seventh quickest respectively in the second free practice session for the Australian Grand Prix. At Albert Park the Spaniard, who did 28 laps, posted a 1.30.132, half a second off the quickest time set by Lewis Hamilton, with his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg second. The Finn did 32 laps on his way to a best time of 1.30.898.
Both drivers worked on evaluating the Soft tyres for wear and performance, which appears to be almost two seconds quicker than the Mediums. They also worked on car set-up and in the final half hour, both drivers did a long run, practicing starts through the session. One small problem for Raikkonen when a failed sensor meant he could not select first gear at the end of pit lane. But the F14 T was brought back to the garage where it was fixed with no effect on the planned programme.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps
1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m29.625s 37
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m29.782s +0.157s 31
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m30.132s +0.507s 28
4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m30.381s +0.756s 41
5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m30.510s +0.885s 33
6. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1m30.538s +0.913s 38
7. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m30.898s +1.273s 32
8. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1m30.920s +1.295s 38
9. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 1m31.031s +1.406s 34
10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m31.054s +1.429s 33
11. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault 1m31.060s +1.435s 35
12. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1m31.119s +1.494s 31
13. Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1m31.283s +1.658s 36
14. Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.355s +2.730s 36
15. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.468s +2.843s 26
16. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault 1m32.495s +2.870s 36
17. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1m33.486s +3.861s 29
18. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m33.646s +4.021s 12
19. Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 1m34.757s +5.132s 29
20. Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 1
21. Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault
22. Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault
PRACTICE ONE
REPORT: Ferraris were first and ninth at the end of the first free practice of the season at Albert Park. Fernando Alonso stopped the clocks in 1.31.840, half a second quicker than Jenson Button in the McLaren, who was followed by the Williams duo of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas. The Spaniard did 20 laps, one more than Kimi Raikkonen, who posted a best lap of 1.32.977.
Both men did three runs, all on the Medium tyre. Both Fernando and Kimi concentrated on running checks on the car systems as well as making some changes to mapping and set-up, also doing some practice starts.
Fernando Alonso had the honour of being the very first man out on track this season, proof that he wants to get stuck in! He also went off at Turn 1, but no damage was done.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps
1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m31.840s 20
2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.357s +0.517s 23
3. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1m32.403s +0.563s 27
4. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1m32.431s +0.591s 19
5. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1m32.599s +0.759s 26
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m32.604s +0.764s 17
7. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m32.793s +0.953s 10
8. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.847s +1.007s 28
9. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m32.977s +1.137s 18
10. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault 1m33.446s +1.606s 30
11. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m33.533s +1.693s 23
12. Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1m33.855s +2.015s 24
13. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault 1m34.272s +2.432s 27
14. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m35.578s +3.738s 7
15. Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1m36.445s +4.605s 13
16. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1m40.859s +9.019s 6
17. Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 1m46.922s +15.082s 4
18. Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 1
19. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1
20. Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault 1
21. Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 2
22. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault
QUOTES
Kimi Raikkonen: “That was a pretty demanding day, because although we managed to complete our programme, it wasn’t trouble-free. In the first session we lost a bit of time, but that didn’t prevent us acquiring enough data to evaluate the overall handling of the car and the Pirelli compounds. This evening there will be a lot of work to do, especially to understand what didn’t work and to try and improve for qualifying and the race”.
Stefano Domenicali: “I always have to see the negative side of the… or the empty side of the glass, so of course we need to make sure that all the things that are still not solved – not only on Kimi’s side – have to be solved or addressed very quickly because the competition is very strong and the time that we have available is not a lot. So I think that for me the most important thing is to address and to solve the issue very quickly and whatever it is, the driver is not really the problem because I’m sure that both drivers will be able to manage the situation in the best way that they can, but there is still a lot of work to do.”
Pat Fry: “Today, we tried to make the most of the good weather and track conditions to work on different strategies and mapping for the race, because this weekend the forecast is very uncertain, especially for tomorrow. During the first session, we concentrated on car set-up, especially in terms of improving the balance under braking and on optimising the drivers’ feeling. In the second session, we ran an evaluation of the soft tyre, completing the programme with a series of long runs. It’s very complicated getting the new systems to work perfectly and then, once you’ve reached that level, to get the maximum performance out of the car. There’s a long way to go and now it’s important to stay focused and pay full attention to the smallest details”.
VIDEOS
Lap with Kimi at Melbourne
Gear problems for Kimi
Kimi behind the scenes, slow-motion track shots
Onboard Alonso and Raikkonen
KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN SPACE 