Australia – Free Practice 1: Vettel makes a successful comeback!

Under a cloudy yet bright sky (22°C in the air and 29°C on the track), the very first session of the season will begin for the 64th Formula 1 World Championship. Sebastian Vettel is the [triple] titleholder, and thus bears the number 1, just like his RB9, which he has nicknamed Hungry Heidi, quite a program!

The session is underway and it’s the Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo that makes, at home, the first laps of the season. His teammate, Jean-Eric Vergne, follows suit. The drivers progressively complete their installation laps, which allows them to gauge the track, that will improve over the weekend.

The first half hour is very, very quiet as no driver has recorded a timed lap. The circuit is calm, and the teams prefer to take their time. It’s a gentle start, with teams working on the cars in the garages. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) breaks the silence for a lap before returning to the pits.

Daniel Ricciardo is the first man to start a timed lap: he sets a 1:36.089; it’s the first time of the year, quickly improved to 1:33.531 then to 1:31.946. Jules Bianchi (Marussia) is also in the running to get his name on the timing sheet with 1:34.537. The times will drop very quickly, as the track is rubbering in and the drivers are finding their marks.

At mid-session, the track belongs to the Toro Rosso team, with Vergne leading Ricciardo, followed by the Marussia cars, with Bianchi ahead of Max Chilton. Charles Pic, driving his Caterham, sets an initial time that is not very significant. Vergne, already on the attack, strings together a slide in the first sector followed by a wheel lock-up in the final segment. Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) and Valtteri Bottas (Williams) take to the track in turn.

Forty minutes from the end, Kimi Räikkönen, with a time of 1:29.029, takes the lead over Vergne, Ricciardo, Bottas, and Bianchi, even though the Lotus driver was hindered by Esteban Gutiérrez’s Sauber in the last sector. The Mexican driver also had a slight scare at the “Lauda” corner by going too wide, but without any consequences. Räikkönen continues to strengthen his lead with times of 1:28.095 and then 1:27.877. The top drivers are out, like Jenson Button, who temporarily places his McLaren in fourth position, or Mark Webber, who sets the second fastest time at 1:28.737. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are attacking with the Mercedes and are quickly approaching the front ranks.

Thirty minutes before the end of the session, Alonso takes the provisional lead with 1:27.547 ahead of Hamilton, Räikkönen, Massa, and Rosberg. Van der Garde brakes a bit late and goes straight on at the first corner. One who doesn’t go straight off is Sebastian Vettel, who is launching into the timed exercise: he sets the eighth then the provisional fastest time with 1:27.320. The drivers seem slightly struggling both with the trajectories and road holding and with the tires, mostly mediums, which seem to wear out quickly. Felipe Massa doesn’t care and takes the lead with 1:27.289, but Vettel doesn’t let him keep it long and achieves 1:27.211.

Twenty minutes before the end, Vettel leads, followed by Massa, Alonso, Hamilton, and Webber. The two Williams and Ricciardo are alone on the track for now. Maldonado, staying on the track with a set of medium tires, is three seconds off his best time. The activity on the track is much less, and the drivers are mostly doing longer stints to measure tire wear, which remains one of the unknowns of the season after winter tests too cold to be representative. Two old acquaintances meet again: Grosjean and Hülkenberg in front of each other for a revival of the 2012 Korean and Indian Grand Prix.

Ten minutes from the checkered flag, Vettel, Massa, Alonso, Hamilton, and Webber make up the top 5. On the track, activity resumes as 18 drivers are out. Bianchi and Maldonado run wide without serious consequences, but the edges seem to be heavily damaged, especially at the exit of the ‘Lauda’ corner. Massa also explores the limits and even goes off the track, prompting the FIA to warn teams that dirt and stones are littering the Albert Park circuit. Paul di Resta gets surprised at ‘Marina’: the Scotsman brakes on the grass and spins into the gravel. He gets away with it and can continue. It is at the back that things are changing, with the two Marussia, led by Bianchi, ahead of the two Caterhams.

The checkered flag is lowered, and it’s a first-place finish for Sebastian Vettel, ahead of the two Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso.

**Results of Free Practice 1 for the Australian Grand Prix /f1/news/15112-sebastian-vettel-in-search-of-a-fourth-title-with-hungry-heidi.html:**