The Bahrain Grand Prix weekend kicked off today with the first pre race practice sessions of the 2010 Formula One season.
The conditions at the Bahrain Circuit were completely different from those experienced during winter testing. High ambient and track temperatures caused the teams to spend a lot of time testing tire degradation under different fuel loads, with many of the drivers complaining that the super-soft compound tires were going off after only four laps.
This seasons new no refueling rule means that the large fuel loads the cars will be carrying at the beginning of the race will make tire wear a crucial factor in a teams race strategy, the driver that can best manage his tires will have a definite advantage, something that may give Jenson Button a race advantage as he is credited with a very smooth driving style.
Several of the teams had significant problems today, Red Bull Racing had gearbox problems on Mark Webbers car and Brake problems on Sebastian Vettels car which limited track time during the second practice session of the day.
Bahrain Second Practice Session Times
| Position | Team | Driver | Best Lap | Time Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercedes GP | Nico Rosberg | 1:55.409 | - |
| 2 | McLaren | Lewis Hamilton | 1:55.854 | +0.445 |
| 3 | Mercedes GP | Michael Schumacher | 1:55.903 | +0.494 |
| 4 | McLaren | Jenson Button | 1:56.076 | +0.667 |
| 5 | Red Bull Racing | Sebastian Vettel | 1:56.459 | +1.050 |
| 6 | Williams | Nico Huulkenberg | 1:56.501 | +1.092 |
| 7 | Ferrari | Felipe Massa | 1:56.555 | +1.146 |
| 8 | Renault F1 | Vitaly Petrov | 1:56.750 | +1.341 |
| 9 | Ferrari | Fernando Alonso | 1:57.140 | +1.731 |
| 10 | BMW Sauber F1 | Pedro De La Rosa | 1:57.255 | +1.846 |
| 11 | BMW Sauber F1 | Kamui Kobayashi | 1:57.352 | +1.943 |
| 12 | Force India | Adrian Sutil | 1:57.361 | +1.952 |
| 13 | Williams F1 | Rubens Barrichello | 1:57.452 | +2.043 |
| 14 | Force India | Tonio Liuzzi | 1:57.833 | +2.424 |
| 15 | Renault F1 | Robert Kubica | 1:58.155 | 2.746 |
| 16 | Toro Rosso | Jamie Alguersuari | 1:59.799 | +4.390 |
| 17 | Red Bull Racing | Mark Weber | 1:60.444 | +5.035 |
| 18 | Lotus Racing | Heikki Kovalainen | 1:60.873 | +5.464 |
| 19 | Lotus Racing | Jarno Trulli | 1:60.990 | +5.581 |
| 20 | Virgin Racing | Timo Glock | 1:62.037 | +6.628 |
| 21 | Virgin Racing | Lucas Di Grassi | 1:62.188 | +6.779 |
| 22 | HRT F1 Racing | Bruno Senna | 1:66.968 | +11.559 |
| 23 | Toro Rosso | Sebastien Buemi | No Time | -- |
| 24 | HRT F1 Racing | Karun Chandhok | No Time | -- |
The second Red Bull team Toro Rosso also had problems on Sebastian Buemi’s car during the first practice which prevented him from getting any track time in the second session. Virgin Racing continued to have problems although they seem to have solved the hydraulic issue that plagued them throughout most of winter testing, today a gearbox issue on Timo Glocks car along with a host of other issues prevented him from getting any significant time in the car during the second session. Even worse was new team HRT F1 racing running for the first time in F1 the team had problems with the second car and only managed to get Bruno Senna on track, stranding Karun Chandhok who got no closer to the circuit than pit wall. Not surprisingly Senna was very slow basically performing shakedown testing on the car until his right rear wheel nut came of the car right at the end of the second session leaving his car stranded out on track.
At the top of the time charts Mercedes Gp and MaClaren set the four fastest times with Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes GP coming out on top.
At the back of the pack not surprisingly is where the new teams end up today, Lotus Racing did best of the new teams even with parts flying off their cars they managed to complete 73 laps over the two session and trying out an aero upgrade during the afternoon Practice session.
Can’t wait for qualifying tomorrow.
