Spanish GP – Free Practice 1: Webber Marks His Territory

This weekend, F1 is heading to the Barcelona circuit, which the teams know like the back of their hand, having spent a good part of the winter there. Nevertheless, the cars have evolved a lot since the last tests in March, and Pirelli has brought harder tires for this fifth round of the season. Plenty of things to test for the 12 teams in the paddock.

After the first fifteen minutes, Sergio Pérez leads Michael Schumacher, Rosberg, and Massa. The Mexican set a lap time of 1:30.589. Over at Red Bull, they are relaxed, with Sebastian Vettel chatting in his garage with Helmut Marko.

The first half-hour of testing is relatively calm since only nine drivers have registered a time. Mark Webber is the first Red Bull driver to hit the track with one hour remaining in this testing session. The Australian completes his first lap in 1:27.075, already placing himself at the top of the timesheet. The Red Bull driver improves on the next lap with a 1:25.473 while Jenson Button records the second-fastest time at 1:27.138. McLaren has brought an impressive number of updates to its MP4-26 in hopes of closing the gap with the RB7 designed by Adrian Newey.

Forty minutes from the end of this first practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix, Webber is still in first position ahead of the Mercedes GP of Nico Rosberg, who is becoming a regular in the honors during practice. Vitaly Petrov, who is the only driver not to have set a timed lap, finally takes the track. The Russian driver complains about his tires being too cold.

As often, the end of the session is much more lively with many cars on track. Pastor Maldonado plants his Williams in the third sector. The Venezuelan loses control of his car in turn 11 and ends up stuck in the gravel trap.

At the end of this session, Mark Webber is ahead of his teammate Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg. Alonso, Pérez, Hamilton, Schumacher, Heidfeld, Button, and Barrichello complete the top 10.

Results of Free Practice 1 – 2011 Spanish Grand Prix: