Japanese GP – Free Practice 1: Button ahead of Hamilton and distances Vettel

It’s on a track heated to 30°C that the drivers set off for their usual verification laps during this first free practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix. As often happens on Friday mornings, some regular drivers give up their seats to test and/or reserve drivers; thus, Karun Chandhok, Nairan Karthikeyan, and Nico Hülkenberg are occupying the respective seats of Heikki Kovalainen, Vitantonio Liuzzi, and Adrian Sutil.

At the end of this season, some teams are evaluating parts or concepts for 2012, as admitted by Ferrari and Red Bull. Thus, Felipe Massa is hard at work from the start of the session, as evidenced by the fluorescent liquid used to analyze the airflow over the front wing endplates. The Brazilian is alone on the track at an extremely moderate pace.

At the wheel of the HRT marked with number 23, Narain Karthikeyan is the first to set a timed lap at 1’49”408 with medium grey-walled tires, a best time that the Indian competes against Daniel Ricciardo, who should give up his seat in the next Indian Grand Prix. Both drivers push under the 1 minute 43 mark, while Kamui Kobayashi, on his very first timed lap, takes the best time at 1’39”381, the Japanese driver improving by just over four-tenths in the following lap.

The drivers are getting busy in this second third of the session as Kamui Kobayashi improves lap after lap to set the bar at 1:37.760, a time that doesn’t hold against the charge of Mark Webber who, on his first lap, clocks a time of 1:36.194 until Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso succeed him, each taking their turn.

A few moments later, Pastor Maldonado experiences a big scare as he goes wide at the exit of the S-Curve and is forced to park his car in a run-off area, the vehicle having visibly suffered from its excursion into the grass.

If Lewis Hamilton grabs the best three sectors to set the fastest time, the response comes from his teammate, Jenson Button, who moves to the top after completing a lap in 1’33”648. Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel settles in 4th place but takes advantage of every opportunity to use his DRS, even in the famous 130R as well as in the fast curve leading onto the pit straight.

As the action on the track decreases in intensity, Jenson Button still holds the fastest time after 50 minutes of practice, ahead of Hamilton, Alonso, Vettel, Webber, Alguersuari, Massa, Buemi, Schumacher, and Hülkenberg. At the back of the field, the Virgin and HRT drivers are within the same second. Meanwhile, Vitaly Petrov takes advantage of these calm moments to climb to 11th place, while Nico Rosberg focuses on race preparation.

If the top contenders of the championship continue on the track with medium tires, the Virgin mechanics are busy under Timo Glock’s car. No significant improvement is noted as the teams work for the race. Vettel, likely loaded with fuel, doesn’t take risks in the 130R and briefly closes his DRS before measuring his car and negotiating the Dunlop curve with the drag reduction system wide open. The German gets within four-tenths of Jenson Button and takes the 3rd place, which was held until then by Fernando Alonso, before returning to the pits after a seven-lap stint.

After a catastrophic Singapore Grand Prix, the Lotus Renault GP drivers seem more at ease on the Japanese circuit, with Vitaly Petrov in 10th place, just ahead of Bruno Senna, as the final quarter-hour of practice approaches. The Toro Rosso drivers also appear to be at their advantage in this first practice session of the weekend, with Alguersuari and Buemi both remaining in the Top 10.

The Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari drivers return to the track for the last ten minutes, still on medium tires. The hierarchy at the front remains unchanged until the checkered flag, leaving the McLaren drivers ahead of Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, and the surprising Jaime Alguersuari. The end of the session is, however, eventful, with Jenson Button improving his best time by 14 thousandths, while Sebastian Vettel ends up with his car in the tire wall, going wide at the exit of Degner 1: the German will need a new front wing before Free Practice 2.

Free Practice 1 Classification of the 2011 Japanese Grand Prix