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Finally: Australian GP

1K views 11 replies 4 participants last post by  a3jeroen 
#1 ·
Raikkonen and Hamilton set pace
Eurosport - Fri, 14 Mar 05:29:00 2008
Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton renewed their rivalry at the top of the timesheets in practice for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

More StoriesTimes: Free Practice 1
Times: Free Practice 2
Raikkonen laid down an early marker for Sunday's race, scorching round Albert Park in one minute 26.461 seconds during the 90-minute first session run under clear skies and in 36 degree Celsius heat.

Last year's overall runner-up Hamilton, second in the morning, asserted himself later with the 23-year-old Briton lapping in 1:26.559 to oust Red Bull's Australian Mark Webber from the afternoon top spot.

Raikkonen won in Melbourne last year on his Ferrari debut and the Finn will be chasing a third successive victory after ending 2007 on a high with triumphs in China and Brazil taking him to the title by a single point.

Ferrari and McLaren, between them winners of every race last year, dominated the field in the first session but the pecking order was shaken up by Red Bull's strong showing after lunch.

Hamilton, a sensational rookie last year before losing out to Raikkonen by a single point in Brazil, was 0.914 seconds faster than Webber who could claim to be the best of the rest.

Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa and McLaren's new Finnish signing Heikki Kovalainen were third and fourth fastest respectively in both sessions.

Spain's double world champion Fernando Alonso, who has returned to Renault after a bitter and tumultuous year alongside Hamilton at McLaren, was sixth in the morning but 13th in the second stint.

The top 10 highlighted the fierce fight behind Ferrari and McLaren, with seven teams jostling for position.

Poland's Robert Kubica was seventh fastest for BMW in the morning, ahead of Toyota's German rookie Timo Glock and compatriot Sebastian Vettel in a Toro Rosso.

Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, a winner in Australia with Renault in 2005, showed Force India were likely to be more serious contenders than predecessors Spyker with ninth place in the afternoon after 12th place earlier on.

Toyota-powered Williams, whose pre-season testing times were impressive, made a troubled start with Germany's Nico Rosberg failing to register a timed lap in the morning before lapping eighth fastest in the second session.

The first session was halted for four minutes after Brazilian rookie Nelson Piquet Jr spun and stalled on the track with 22 minutes remaining. He was 19th in the afternoon.

Fantasy Formula One is back and you have until 1.30am to pick your team for the opening race of the season in Australia - Fantasy F1: On The Grid! - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
 
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#2 ·
Australian GP - Free Practice 1

Australian GP - Free Practice 1
Friday March 14, 2008 | Finished
Free pratices live standingsP. Driver Team Time
1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:26.461
2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 0:00.487
3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 0:00.497
4 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren 0:00.653
5 Mark Webber Red Bull 0:01.802
6 Fernando Alonso Renault 0:01.899
7 Robert Kubica BMW 0:02.118
8 Timo Glock Toyota 0:02.452
9 Sebastien Vettel Toro Rosso 0:02.496
10 Jarno Trulli Toyota 0:02.553
11 Jenson Button Honda 0:02.663
12 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India 0:02.769
13 David Coulthard Red Bull 0:02.840
14 Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso 0:02.902
15 Rubens Barrichello Honda 0:03.072
16 Nick Heidfeld BMW 0:03.100
17 Adrian Sutil Force India 0:03.694
18 Nelsinho Piquet Jr Renault 0:03.896
19 Takuma Sato Super Aguri 0:04.587
20 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri 0:05.310
21 Kazuki Nakajima Williams 0:08.592
22 Nico Rosberg Williams
Live CommentaryNo live comments for this event
 
#3 ·
Australian GP - Free Practice 2

Australian GP - Free Practice 2
Friday March 14, 2008 | Finished
Free pratices live standingsP. Driver Team Time
1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:26.559
2 Mark Webber Red Bull 0:00.914
3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 0:01.081
4 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren 0:01.124
5 David Coulthard Red Bull 0:01.478
6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 0:01.649
7 Jarno Trulli Toyota 0:01.733
8 Nico Rosberg Williams 0:01.793
9 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India 0:01.910
10 Timo Glock Toyota 0:02.023
11 Jenson Button Honda 0:02.073
12 Nick Heidfeld BMW 0:02.172
13 Fernando Alonso Renault 0:02.220
14 Rubens Barrichello Honda 0:02.290
15 Robert Kubica BMW 0:02.301
16 Kazuki Nakajima Williams 0:02.518
17 Adrian Sutil Force India 0:02.602
18 Sebastien Vettel Toro Rosso 0:02.634
19 Nelsinho Piquet Jr Renault 0:02.959
20 Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso 0:03.046
21 Takuma Sato Super Aguri 0:04.104
22 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri 0:04.968
Live CommentaryNo live comments for this event
 
#4 ·
FInally is definately the word for it. I have been feining for this for months. I can't wait to sit back and watch this on my 1080p Samsung 50'' with the DTS running on the Klipsch speakers. Give me a 6er of Grolsch :D and I'm ready to rolll!!
Go Hamilton!
 

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#5 ·
I'll do the same, but my preferred beer is 'Pilsner Urquell' from the City all Pilsner beers are named after, or the original Budweiser, named after the City in the Czech Republic, not to be confused with the Anheuser Busch swill. Our next door neighbor in Germany runs a brewery, and is kind enough to supply my with thin crystal Pilsner glasses so I can enjoy the taste.
Both Cities are in Bohemia, which used to be part of the Austrian - Hungarian Empire, and German speaking.
Probably a lot more information than you've been looking for, but I am very picky when it comes to beer.
Enjoy the races, and cheers indeed.
 

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#6 ·
Hamilton storms to pole as Ferrari falter in Melbourne

Hamilton storms to pole as Ferrari falter in Melbourne
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday's Australian Grand Prix from pole position, with the BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica alongside him. Heikki Kovalainen qualified third on his McLaren debut.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen are fourth and 16th on the grid after technical problems for Raikkonen at the end of Q2. Full results...
 
#7 ·
2008 FORMULA 1 ING AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIXPos No Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps

14 - 16 Mar 2008
2008 FORMULA 1 ING AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIXPos No Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
1 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.572 1:25.187 1:26.714 14
2 4 Robert Kubica BMW 1:26.103 1:25.315 1:26.869 15
3 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:25.664 1:25.452 1:27.079 13
4 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:25.994 1:25.691 1:27.178 12
5 3 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:25.960 1:25.518 1:27.236 16
6 11 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:26.427 1:26.101 1:28.527 17
7 7 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:26.295 1:26.059 1:28.687 21
8 9 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:26.381 1:26.063 1:29.041 18
9 12 Timo Glock Toyota 1:26.919 1:26.164 1:29.593 17
10 15 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 1:26.702 1:25.842 No time 18
11 17 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:26.369 1:26.173 13
12 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:26.907 1:26.188 10
13 16 Jenson Button Honda 1:26.712 1:26.259 13
14 8 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:26.891 1:26.413 13
15 10 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:26.914 No time 8
16 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:26.140 3
17 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:27.207 9
18 14 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 1:27.446 10
19 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:27.859 9
20 18 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:28.208 9
21 6 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 1:28.330 6
22 19 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:29.059 9
 
#9 ·
McLaren were hugely impressive in qualifying. Just did what they had to do and nothing more. It will be interesting to see how much fuel Kubica's BMW is carrying - it looked really quick but he was throwing it around like a man possessed. It was great to watch. I suspect the BMW is running a light fuel load - to me it looked like Kubica was really pushing much harder than Hamilton. I wonder if he knew he had to make the most of his light car. Hamiltons lap in comparison was almost Prost-like in smoothness.

I love the way the cars move around now - especially under brakes. The race tomorrow is going to be really interesting - especially if it remains nearly 40 degrees celcius. Bring it on!
 
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