Malaysian GP: Free Practice 1 – Webber Regains Confidence
After his disappointment in Australia, where he was almost a second off his teammate's best times, Mark Webber gains a psychological advantage by setting the fastest time. The Red Bull driver finishes on top in the first practice session of the weekend in Sepang, Malaysia. He leads by more than one and a half seconds ahead of Hamilton and Schumacher. Despite the fears and high temperatures, rain did not make an appearance during this session.
The big losers of this first free practice session are undoubtedly the drivers of Lotus Renault GP. Nick Heidfeld experienced a problem after just 7 laps on the front left. The team initially suspected the brakes, then the suspensions, and still don’t know what’s causing the issue. They did send Petrov back on track 20 minutes before the end of the session, but he also encountered the problem after 4 laps. It is worth noting that it is very hot in Malaysia today. Track temperatures exceed 40°C, and the humidity is also very high. These conditions were never present during the winter testing.
And yet, under these conditions, Red Bull and Mark Webber are coping very well. The Australian is first, 1.6 seconds ahead of the second, Lewis Hamilton. Schumacher is third with the Mercedes GP. Nico Hülkenberg in the Force India holds a surprising 4th position. He was actually the first to complete a timed lap this morning. However, he is more than 2.7 seconds behind the Red Bull with a similar number of laps.
Pastor Maldonado sets a very good 5th fastest time for Williams, just ahead of Massa and Nick Heidfeld in the LRGP despite only completing 7 laps. Barrichello, Alonso, and Rosberg complete the top 10 with two Ferraris, two Williams, and two Mercedes GP.
Vettel and Perez, very good in Australia, only recorded the 17th and 18th fastest times during this first session. Sebastian Vettel notably tested his KERS for several laps before focusing on settings, therefore not recording any qualifying times.
As a reminder, Red Bull had already applied this strategy in Australia where the morning session was reserved for settings and performance in qualifying simulation, while the afternoon was reserved for race simulation.
Finally, to report the problem of Jérôme d’Ambrosio with the Virgin, who experienced an issue very similar to those encountered by LRGP on the front left during braking. The driver had to abandon.
Free Practice 1 Results – 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1 | Webber | Red Bull | 1:37.651 | 22 | |
2 | Hamilton | McLaren | 1:39.316 | +1.665 | 16 |
3 | Schumacher | Mercedes GP | 1:39.791 | +2.140 | 29 |
4 | Hülkenberg | Force India | 1:40.377 | +2.726 | 23 |
5 | Maldonado | Williams | 1:40.443 | +2.792 | 31 |
6 | Massa | Ferrari | 1:40.453 | +2.802 | 22 |
7 | Heidfeld | Lotus Renault GP | 1:40.525 | +2.874 | 6 |
8 | Barrichello | Williams | 1:40.581 | +2.930 | 21 |
9 | Alonso | Ferrari | 1:40.601 | +2.950 | 23 |
10 | Rosberg | Mercedes GP | 1:40.646 | +2.995 | 29 |
11 | Sutil | Force India | 1:40.734 | +3.083 | 21 |
12 | Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:40.748 | +3.097 | 23 |
13 | Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | 1:40.770 | +3.119 | 24 |
14 | Kobayashi | BMW-Sauber | 1:40.872 | +3.221 | 27 |
15 | Button | McLaren | 1:40.927 | +3.276 | 16 |
16 | Trulli | Lotus | 1:41.620 | +3.969 | 21 |
17 | Vettel | Red Bull | 1:41.627 | +3.976 | 18 |
18 | Perez | BMW-Sauber | 1:41.642 | +3.991 | 24 |
19 | Glock | Virgin | 1:42.154 | +4.503 | 18 |
20 | D’Ambrosio | Virgin | 1:42.540 | +4.889 | 20 |
21 | Valsecchi | Lotus | 1:44.054 | +6.403 | 18 |
22 | Liuzzi | HRT | 1:45.228 | +7.577 | 20 |
23 | Karthikeyan | HRT | 1:46.267 | +8.616 | 10 |
24 | Petrov | Lotus Renault GP | 1:47.932 | +10.281 | 4 |
