Valencia 2009: Friday Practice One

Valencia 2009: Friday Practice One

Rubens Barrichello topped the morning free practice session on Friday, beating the McLarens and team mate Jenson Button and setting a lap time around the streets of Valencia that was 0.176s clear of Heikki Kovalainen. Sebastian Vettel led the Red Bull charge with P5 and 0.1s ahead of Adrian Sutil in the Force India. Kazuki Nakajima showed Nico Rosberg the way, outpacing his more experienced team mate while Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen rounded out the top ten.

The European Grand Prix will see one new driver debut and another returning to the cockpit on a race weekend after ten years away from the limelight. Renault have chosen to replace Nelson Piquet Jr with French pilot Romain Grosjean. The returnee is Luca Badoer, the Italian substituting Felipe Massa in the Ferrari while the Brazilian recuperates away from the race track. Grosjean completed his first session in a Formula One car in P17, 1s shy of Fernando Alonso’s pace. Luca Badoer fared less well and finished the morning’s running in P20, some 2.5s shy of Kimi Raikkonen’s benchmark.

Both Scuderia Toro Rosso pilots did well before breaking for lunch, with Sebastien Buemi managing to haul his STR4 into P11 and Spanish rookie Jaime Alguersuari not too far behind in P13. Conversely, the Toyotas didn’t do so well, with Jarno Trulli back in P18 and team mate Timo Glock just a tenth slower in P19.

Valencia 2009
Friday Free Practice One

Lap Time
Fastest Time Set

Laps Set
Number Laps Set

1. Brazilian FlagRubens Barrichello Brawn 1m42.460s 19 Laps
2. Finnish FlagHeikki Kovalainen McLaren 1m42.636s 16 Laps
3. British FlagLewis Hamilton McLaren 1m42.654s 18 Laps
4. British FlagJenson Button Brawn 1m43.074s 19 Laps
5. German FlagSebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1m43.088s 17 Laps
6. German FlagAdrian Sutil Force India 1m43.209s 13 Laps
7. Japanese FlagKazuki Nakajima Williams 1m43.225s 25 Laps
8. Australian FlagMark Webber Red Bull Racing 1m43.243s 19 Laps
9. Spanish FlagFernando Alonso Renault 1m43.345s 18 Laps
10. Finnish FlagKimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m43.384s 23 Laps
11. Swiss FlagSebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m43.389s 30 Laps
12. Polish FlagRobert Kubica BMW 1m43.419s 20 Laps
13. Spanish FlagJaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m43.637s 30 Laps
14. German FlagNico Rosberg Williams 1m43.746s 22 Laps
15. German FlagNick Heidfeld BMW 1m44.040s 23 Laps
16. Italian FlagGiancarlo Fisichella Force India 1m44.126s 17 Laps
17. French FlagRomain Grosjean Renault 1m44.356s 23 Laps
18. Italian FlagJarno Trulli Toyota 1m44.638s 26 Laps
19. German FlagTimo Glock Toyota 1m44.732s 28 Laps
20. Italian FlagLuca Badoer Ferrari 1m45.840s 25 Laps

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