Renault
Fernando Alonso, 1m 43.345s P9/1m 39.404s P1
Romain Grosjean, 1m 44.356s P17/1m 40.787s P13
Despite his inadvertent kerfuffle with Heidfeld in the afternoon, Alonso reported a positive day and an R29 that performed right from the start of practice. Rookie Grosjean played himself in and reported good progress as he acclimatised to his new role.
Brawn
Jenson Button, 1m 43.074s P4/1m 40.178s P2
Rubens Barrichello, 1m 42.460s P1/1m 40.209s P3
Intensive theoretical work at the factory in the last few weeks, allied to a lot of real-time back-to-back assessment today and decent track temperatures saw Brawn return to competitive pace. Button said he was encouraged but that his car’s balance needed improvement, while Barrichello said it felt great to be competitive again.
Williams
Nico Rosberg, 1m 43.746s P14/1m 40.385s P4
Kazuki Nakajima, 1m 43.225s P7/1m 40.503s P5
Rosberg’s day got off to a bad start when his tyres grained immediately, which left his morning session compromised. The afternoon was much better and positive set-up changes helped him to fourth fastest time. Nakajima was there or thereabouts all day, and was pleased with his short- and long-run lap times.
Force India
Adrian Sutil, 1m 43.209s P6/1m 40.596s P6
Giancarlo Fisichella, 1m 44.126s P16/1m 40.681s P8
Force India were on the pace all day, thanks to Sutil in both sessions and Fisichella in the afternoon. Both used a new aerodynamic package. Sutil said he had a few undisclosed niggles in the morning, when Fisichella had graining. Both are aiming for good Q2 times on Saturday.
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