Not too many surprises during free practice in Barcelona, given that the teams came here twice in winter testing. However, since then, the cars have all evolved considerably and the temperature is at least twice as high as it was back then. While the cars themselves have probably got a bit quicker, you cannot argue with the laws of nature and high temperatures always make for slower lap times.
It was a busy day for Scuderia Toro Rosso, as we were testing a variety of new components as well as squeezing in the usual Friday jobs of doing a comparison between the Prime and the Option, which yet again this year are the Pirelli Hard and Soft compounds, although the Hard has been modified for this weekend. Daniel Ricciardo was replacing Sébastien Buemi in Free Practice 1, so that local boy Jaime Alguersuari would get to perform in front of his fans for as long as possible. That did not quite work out in the morning session as an installation issue with the engine meant he did not do many laps and, as a precaution, the engine was changed before the second session.
Our Swiss driver had a more straightforward day, ending the second session in thirteenth place, two ahead of his team-mate.
Last year, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber seemed more closely matched than this season in which the German has been Red Bull’s only race winner and the Australian reckons it’s time to change that. He got off on the right foot by setting the fastest time this afternoon, at a race that he did indeed win in 2010. Lewis Hamilton, the only 2011 winner apart from Vettel is second fastest for McLaren ahead of the other Red Bull Racing car. Jenson Button was fourth quickest for McLaren, followed by Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari, while Nico Rosberg completes the top six for Mercedes.
A slow day in Spain