For the 17th time in the 30 sessions held so far in 2014, it was Hamilton’s name at the head of the timesheet at Barcelona. PHOTO: AFP
Lewis Hamilton led a Mercedes one-two in Spanish Grand Prix practice on Friday while Red Bull’s world champion Sebastian Vettel was sidelined for most of the two sessions by an electrical problem.
Race favourite Hamilton was quickest in both sessions; 0.449 of a second faster than championship-leading teammate Nico Rosberg in the afternoon and 0.868 ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button in the morning.
While Hamilton pounded out the laps ahead of a weekend that could bring him a fourth successive win, quadruple champion Vettel was little more than a spectator at the Circuit de Catalunya.
The German, winner of nine races in a row at the end of last season, was forced to park up by the side of the track early in the day with just four laps completed. Circuit de Catalunya marshals handed him a fire extinguisher as he inspected the car before hitching a ride back to the paddock on a scooter.
Red Bull have given the 26-year-old a car built on a different chassis to the one he has used so far in what has been a difficult start to the season, but there was no obvious improvement.
“Due to an electrical problem that has damaged the wiring loom of car number one, Sebastian will not be able to take part in FP2 [second practice],” said Red Bull before the afternoon session started.
“The team will use the time to fix it to be ready for FP3 [the final session before qualifying] tomorrow [Saturday].”
The last time the German was at a Spanish circuit, testing at Jerez in January, he spent most of his time in the garage, watching mechanics work on the car, as Renault wrestled with teething problems on the new V6 power unit.
Hamilton, four points behind Rosberg after four races, went from strength to strength with a fastest lap of one minute 27.023 seconds in the morning. After lunch, his best time was a 1:25.524.
Vettel’s Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo, who has made an impressive start with the team, was third in both sessions with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, the local favourite for his home race after winning last year, fourth.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 10th, 2014.
Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ