Barcelona: Michael Schumacher was back up to speed for Mercedes on Friday in a first free practice session dominated by McLaren’s world champions Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
Hamilton, the 2008 champion beaten into second place by his fellow-Briton at the last race in China, lapped the Circuit de Catalunya in one minute 21.134 seconds.
Button, overall leader after winning two of the first four races of the season, was 0.538 seconds slower but still second quickest on an overcast morning in the hills north of Barcelona.
Schumacher, the sport’s most successful driver who has struggled to match his young German team mate Nico Rosberg so far in his comeback season at the age of 41 and after three years out, was next.
Reverting to the chassis that he had used in pre-season testing, and armed with a longer wheelbase and new aerodynamic parts, the German appeared to find the changes very much to his liking at a circuit that has handed him six of his 91 wins.
The seven times champion was 0.582 off Hamilton’s pace, and ahead of both the Red Bulls of Australian Mark Webber and Germany’s Sebastian Vettel.
Rosberg, who has been on the podium in his last two races while Schumacher retired in Malaysia and laboured home 10th in China, was sixth.
Fernando Alonso, the double world champion preparing for his first home grand prix as a Ferrari driver, was eighth on the timesheets in the 90 minute session.
While Friday practice provides a morale boost, Saturday’s qualifying will be crucial with the winner in Barcelona starting on pole position for nine years in a row.
Further back, Austrian Christian Klien made a return to Formula One after signing a reserve driver role with newcomers Hispania (HRT), taking Indian Karun Chandhok’s place in morning practice.
Klien lapped half a second faster than Brazilian Bruno Senna in the other Hispania.
Britain’s Paul di Resta also returned as Force India’s reserve, taking regular race driver Adrian Sutil’s place in the session and lapping quicker than the team’s other racer Vitantonio Liuzzi.
Sauber’s Spanish driver Pedro de la Rosa failed to complete a timed lap due to a gearbox problem.
Bureau Report
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.