Oliver WhiteFollowing the surprising upturn in form from the McLaren in the first practice, Lewis Hamilton would find his fortune fade after lunch as the reigning world champion went from the top of the timing sheet down to P13. Instead, both Brawns came alive and dominated around the Shanghai circuit, and Nico Rosberg once again shone in the Williams FW31. Sebastian Vettel joined his team mate Mark Webber at the sharp end of the lap times and both Toyotas continued to run well.
It wasn’t just Nico Rosberg who improved, as his team mate Kazuki Nakajima shot up to seventh late in the session. Heikki Kovalainen also showed promise in the second McLaren, posting a time 0.3s faster than Hamilton’s, despite piloting the car without the aerodynamic modifications that could be found on his team mate’s.
Both BMWs rested towards the bottom of the timing sheets again, although they will almost undoubtedly show their pace tomorrow in qualifying. Both Ferraris looked decidedly off-colour in China, as did Hamilton’s McLaren and Alonso’s Renault.
Shanghai 2009
|
Lap Time
|
Laps Set
|
1. |  Jenson Button Brawn |
1m35.679s | 35 Laps |
| 2. |  Nico Rosberg Williams |
1m35.704s | 36 Laps |
| 3. |  Rubens Barrichello Brawn |
1m35.881s | 35 Laps |
| 4. |  Mark Webber Red Bull Racing |
1m36.105s | 32 Laps |
| 5. | Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing |
1m36.026s | 22 Laps |
| 6. |  Jarno Trulli Toyota |
1m36.167s | 42 Laps |
| 7. |  Kazuki Nakajima Williams |
1m36.377s | 32 Laps |
| 8. | Timo Glock Toyota |
1m36.548s | 40 Laps |
| 9. |  Heikki Kovalainen McLaren |
1m36.674s | 34 Laps |
| 10. |  Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso |
1m36.800s | 34 Laps |
| 11. | Adrian Sutil Force India |
1m36.829s | 30 Laps |
| 12. | Felipe Massa Ferrari |
1m36.847s | 34 Laps |
| 13. | Lewis Hamilton McLaren |
1m36.941s | 28 Laps |
| 14. | Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari |
1m37.054s | 33 Laps |
| 15. |  Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso |
1m37.219s | 34 Laps |
| 16. | Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault |
1m37.273s | 36 Laps |
| 17. |  Robert Kubica BMW |
1m37.491s | 34 Laps |
| 18. | Nick Heidfeld BMW |
1m37.544s | 28 Laps |
| 19. |  Fernando Alonso Renault |
1m37.638s | 28 Laps |
| 20. | Giancarlo Fisichella Force India |
1m37.750s | 31 Laps |
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