Free Practice 1 – Sutil Top of the Class in Torrential Rain

Adrian Sutil set the fastest time for Force India during a very wet first practice session at the Italian Grand Prix. He was one of the few drivers to hit the track when the circuit was ‘vaguely’ dry.

The rain fell for most of the morning. With a wet track from the start, only a handful of teams decided to leave the pits before new heavy showers disrupted the session.

The two Force Indias headed out onto the track in the seconds following the start of the session, making Sutil and Fisichella the only two on the circuit. They regularly swapped the lead position before being beaten by Rubens Barrichello’s Honda just before the half-hour mark. Then, Sutil regained first place with a time of 1:32.842, moments before the rain returned for good.

Even if the rain briefly stopped, the track didn’t have the opportunity to dry before another downpour. The rain intensified in the last twenty minutes, and everyone who had dared to brave these conditions returned to the pits.

The session was officially stopped with a red flag with only four minutes remaining due to the intensity of the rain. No one had attempted to leave the pits for the past fifteen minutes.

Behind Sutil, we find Barrichello and Fisichella. Timo Glock’s Toyota takes fourth position, just ahead of Nico Rosberg (Williams) and Fernando Alonso (Renault).

Most of the F1 grid completed at least a few laps except for the McLarens, Mark Webber (Red Bull), and Robert Kubica (BMW) who limited themselves to their installation lap.

Kazuki Nakajima also set a time before losing control of his Williams, which went straight into the gravel. He returned to the pits and chose not to go back on track.

The Japanese driver was at the center of the most spectacular incident even though Force India, Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, and Alonso made minor excursions into the run-off areas.

Free Practice 1 Results – Italian GP – September 12, 2008