Free Practice 2 – Standings 2008, everything is reversed in 2009!

This second free practice session of the 2009 Australian Grand Prix seems to confirm a disrupted hierarchy this season. As the sun slowly but surely set in the late afternoon (the session took place between 4:30 PM and 6:00 PM), Nico Rosberg for Williams achieved a double under a clear blue sky.

The German is followed by Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP) and Trulli’s TF109. Many more teams had equipped themselves with soft tires this afternoon.

Rosberg recorded three high-flying laps that allowed him to stay at the top of the timesheets for a large part of the session. In the final minutes, Barrichello came very close to dethroning him. An exception, as due to a drop in ground temperature (approaching 6:00 PM) and a slightly stronger wind, the times fell in the last third of the race.

It should be noted that the three teams whose broadcasters were challenged and ultimately proved compliant occupy six of the top seven positions…

In a long second session in terms of laps completed, the teams began working immediately after the start. Jarno Trulli and his Toyota teammate, Timo Glock, on soft tires, remained leaders for many laps before Rosberg asserted his supremacy with a 1:26.293 at first.

He will then only continue to improve, well-assisted by a new set of tires. With times of 1:26.142 and then 1:26.053, he currently achieves the fastest lap of the weekend.

Barrichello is therefore second just ahead of Trulli, who recorded 42 laps to finally remain third, 0.297 behind Rosberg. Mark Webber is fourth, thus demonstrating that a driver can be competitive even without a controversial diffuser. A single exceptional lap with his Red Bull allowed him to comfortably remain in the top four.

His teammate Sebastian Vettel is also well placed, as he is in 8th position. At turn 4, he twice puts two wheels of his car on the grass. The second time, it doesn’t forgive him, and he spins out. The German is the only one today to have dropped out during the practice sessions, and he is notably the only one to have done so during both practice sessions!

Jenson Button finishes fifth ahead of Timo Glock. Kazuki Nakajima takes seventh place at the wheel of the second Williams while Vettel is a good eighth. The top eight are within less than 7 tenths of a second.

The Force India single-seaters were also competitive this afternoon. The Mercedes-powered cars of Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella were in second and third place at the start of the session. The German even tried on the leader’s suit before dropping to ninth place, while his Italian teammate is in 13th.

Great drivers are among the top places, but where are those who made an impact in the 2008 season? In the lower half of the table…

Felipe Massa for Ferrari is tenth, ahead of his teammate, Kimi Räikkönen, by a tenth. Both drivers have ventured onto the grass on more than one occasion, mainly in the first corner, like Trulli, Glock, or Kovalainen.

In fact, none of the three world champions still in the running today are in the top 10.

Fernando Alonso for Renault could only manage 12th place after a spin at the beginning of the session, while the reigning champion, Lewis Hamilton, only complained over the radio about the condition of his car. He is 18th at the end of this session, one place behind his McLaren teammate, Heikki Kovalainen.

The BMW-Sauber drivers also did not manage to stand out. Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica follow each other in 14th and 15th positions. Bourdais with his STR4 is ahead of the McLarens in 16th place. Nelson Piquet (Renault) and Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) close the rankings.

See you tomorrow night for the last free practice session starting at 4:00 a.m.

Free Practice 2 Results – Australian GP – Friday, March 27, 2009: