Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton got the 2014 Formula 1 season underway for Mercedes AMG at Albert Park Friday with the first two practice sessions of the Australian Grand Prix weekend.
Hamilton missed most of P1 after his car stopped on track during the installation lap due to a sensor calibration problem.
A consistent second practice saw the pair top the timesheets, and a total of six Mercedes powered cars in the top ten.
Hamilton's fastest time in P2 of 1m29.625 compared to a fastest time of 1m25.908 in 2013, albeit with harder compound tires
“It really was a day of two halves today. While it was disappointing to not get any track time this morning, these little hiccups are going to happen with the new cars and we'll have to get used to that,” said Lewis Hamilton.
“It felt like I was on the back foot from there but then we got up to pace quite quickly in P2 and found the balance relatively fast. I feel quite comfortable in the car so overall it's a positive start but we need to look at the data now and understand where we are. We got a nice foundation for the weekend in the second session today so hopefully we can build on that in P3 tomorrow afternoon and then see where we are in qualifying,” he added.
Free Practice 1 - Results*
1 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14 T) - 1m31.840 - 20 laps
2 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1m32.257 - 23
3 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1m32.403 - 27
4 - Felipe Massa (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1m32.431 - 19
5 - Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1m32.599 - 26
6 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W05) - 1m32.604 - 17
7 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1m32.793 - 10
8 - Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1m32.847 - 28
9 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14 T) - 1m32.997 - 19
10 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1m33.446 - 30
11 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1m33.533 - 23
12 - Sergio Perez (Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1m33.855 - 24
13 - Daniil Kvyat(Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1m34.272 - 27
14 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1m37.303 - 7
15 - Adrian Sutil (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1m36.445 - 13
16 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1m40.859 - 6
17 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1m46.922 - 4
18 - Marcus Ericsson (Caterham CT05-Renault) - no time - 1
19 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W05) - no time - 1
20 - Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham CT05-Renault) - no time - 1
21 - Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E22-Renault) - no time - 2
22 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E22-Renault) - no time
Free Practice 2 - Results*
1 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W05) - 1m29.625 - 36 laps
2 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W05) - 1m29.782 - 31
3 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14 T) - 1m30.132 - 28
4 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1m30.381 - 39
5 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1m30.510 - 33
6 - Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1m30.538 - 36
7 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14 T) - 1m30.898 - 32
8 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1m30.920 - 38
9 - Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1m31.031 - 34
10 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1m31.054 - 33
11 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1m31.060 - 34
12 - Felipe Massa (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1m31.119 - 31
13 - Sergio Perez (Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1m31.283 - 36
14 - Adrian Sutil (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1m32.355 - 36
15 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1m32.468 - 26
16 - Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1m32.495 - 36
17 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1m33.486 - 29
18 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1m33.646 - 12
19 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1m34.757 - 29
20 - Marcus Ericsson (Caterham CT05-Renault) - no time - 1
21 - Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham CT05-Renault) - no time - 0
22 - Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E22-Renault) - no time - 0
* Unofficial results
 |
| Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W05. (Photo: WRi2) |
Hamilton missed most of P1 after his car stopped on track during the installation lap due to a sensor calibration problem.
A consistent second practice saw the pair top the timesheets, and a total of six Mercedes powered cars in the top ten.
 |
| Fernando Alonso, Ferrari F14-T. (Photo: WRi2) |
Hamilton's fastest time in P2 of 1m29.625 compared to a fastest time of 1m25.908 in 2013, albeit with harder compound tires
“It really was a day of two halves today. While it was disappointing to not get any track time this morning, these little hiccups are going to happen with the new cars and we'll have to get used to that,” said Lewis Hamilton.
“It felt like I was on the back foot from there but then we got up to pace quite quickly in P2 and found the balance relatively fast. I feel quite comfortable in the car so overall it's a positive start but we need to look at the data now and understand where we are. We got a nice foundation for the weekend in the second session today so hopefully we can build on that in P3 tomorrow afternoon and then see where we are in qualifying,” he added.
 |
| Jenson Button, McLaren MP4-29-Mercedes. (Photo: WRi2) |
Free Practice 1 - Results*
1 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14 T) - 1m31.840 - 20 laps
2 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1m32.257 - 23
3 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1m32.403 - 27
4 - Felipe Massa (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1m32.431 - 19
5 - Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1m32.599 - 26
6 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W05) - 1m32.604 - 17
7 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1m32.793 - 10
8 - Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1m32.847 - 28
9 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14 T) - 1m32.997 - 19
10 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1m33.446 - 30
11 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1m33.533 - 23
12 - Sergio Perez (Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1m33.855 - 24
13 - Daniil Kvyat(Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1m34.272 - 27
14 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1m37.303 - 7
15 - Adrian Sutil (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1m36.445 - 13
16 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1m40.859 - 6
17 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1m46.922 - 4
18 - Marcus Ericsson (Caterham CT05-Renault) - no time - 1
19 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W05) - no time - 1
20 - Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham CT05-Renault) - no time - 1
21 - Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E22-Renault) - no time - 2
22 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E22-Renault) - no time
 |
| Pastor Maldonado, Lotus E22-Renault. (Photo: WRi2) |
Free Practice 2 - Results*
1 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W05) - 1m29.625 - 36 laps
2 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W05) - 1m29.782 - 31
3 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14 T) - 1m30.132 - 28
4 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1m30.381 - 39
5 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1m30.510 - 33
6 - Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1m30.538 - 36
7 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14 T) - 1m30.898 - 32
8 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1m30.920 - 38
9 - Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1m31.031 - 34
10 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1m31.054 - 33
11 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1m31.060 - 34
12 - Felipe Massa (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1m31.119 - 31
13 - Sergio Perez (Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1m31.283 - 36
14 - Adrian Sutil (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1m32.355 - 36
15 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1m32.468 - 26
16 - Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1m32.495 - 36
17 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1m33.486 - 29
18 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1m33.646 - 12
19 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1m34.757 - 29
20 - Marcus Ericsson (Caterham CT05-Renault) - no time - 1
21 - Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham CT05-Renault) - no time - 0
22 - Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E22-Renault) - no time - 0
* Unofficial results