McLaren put their winter struggles behind them by setting the fastest time in practice for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Jenson Button set the pace in an updated McLaren with a lap of one minute 25.852 seconds to edge his team-mate Lewis Hamilton by 0.132secs.
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was 0.147secs behind in third ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. BBC Sport
The final runners under 1m 27s were Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher on 1m 26.590s and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa on 1m 26.789s.
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Formula 1: Australian Grand Prix - Second Practice Results
Formula 1: Mark Webber Fastest in First Practice at Albert Park
Formula 1: Australian Grand Prix - First Practice Results
Impressive rookie Sergio Perez was eighth for Sauber on 1m 27.101s, from Rubens Barrichello’s Williams on 1m 27.280s, Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes on 1m 27.448s and Jaime Alguersuari’s Toro Rosso on 1m 27.525s. Vitaly Petrov was very close to them with 1m 27.528s, and Nick Heidfeld chased his Renault team mate with 1m 27.697s, closely followed by the second Toro Rosso of Sebastien Buemi on 1m 27.697s.
Kamui Kobayashi’s Sauber was next up on 1m 28.095s, ahead of rookie Paul di Resta who made a very assured debut despite missing the first session, to beat Force India team mate Adrian Sutil with 1m 28.376s to 1m 28.583s. Formula1
Despite cool conditions and occasional showers at the Albert Park circuit, the teams persisted with dry-weather tires throughout the day.
The first session got off to a slow start when first man out — newly appointed Lotus test driver Karun Chandhok — spun on the third corner, damaging the front end. The incident prompted a suspension of practice and the Indian did not return to the track to post a time.
Jarno Trulli took the car out in the second session, but he also managed to overshoot a corner into a gravel pit — also on turn three — as light rain fell and the street circuit lost grip. The Canadian Press
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