Button storms to quickest lap in Shanghai
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Reuters
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 18, 2009 00:00
SHANGHAI - Jenson Button made the best possible start to his quest for a third successive Formula One victory by setting the quickest lap time in Friday's two practice sessions for the Chinese Grand Prix.
The Briton, who won the first two races of the season from pole position, again showed the pace of his Brawn GP car with a storming lap of one minute, 35.679 seconds late in the second session.
"We've improved a car a lot over the day, but there's still a bit more work to do until I'm completely happy," said the 29-year-old, who leads the championship by five points from team mate Rubens Barrichello.
"There seemed to be a lot of traffic on the track today so my main concern was finding some clear air."
German Nico Rosberg also left it late before posting a time of 1.35.704 for Williams to edge Brazilian Barrichello (1.35.881) and deny Brawn GP the top two times of the day.
Consistency is key
"The major thing for us at the moment is that this season we have consistency from one track to another," said Rosberg, who has looked quick in practice but had disappointing race results so far this season."We're now going to a race and not getting any big surprises as we seem to have learned from our mistakes from last year."
The Brawns were expected to dominate the weekend after their rear diffuser was declared legal on Wednesday but the Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel -- fourth and fifth quickest -- showed it was possible to go fast without one. "We had perfect driving conditions today so we'll see how we go tomorrow. I enjoyed it out there," Australian Webber said.
Hamilton fades
World champion Lewis Hamilton had put his McLaren team's troubles behind him by setting the quickest time in first practice but faded in the second session.
The 24-year-old finished 13th in the afternoon session at the track where he claimed his last win in 2008.
Ferrari's travails also continued with Felipe Massa 12th fastest in second practice and Kimi Raikkonen managing only the 14th best time for the reigning constructors' champions.
Raikkonen came off the track in both sessions, one of several drivers struggling with grip as teams weighed their tire choices for the weekend.
"The point is we are too slow compared to the teams currently at the top of the order," the Finnish 2007 world champion said. "We must try and improve the car, at the moment we are not able to fight for the title."
A third practice session takes place before qualifying Saturday. "Obviously we want to be on pole," Button said.
"We've improved a car a lot over the day, but there's still a bit more work to do until I'm completely happy," said the 29-year-old, who leads the championship by five points from team mate Rubens Barrichello.
"There seemed to be a lot of traffic on the track today so my main concern was finding some clear air."
German Nico Rosberg also left it late before posting a time of 1.35.704 for Williams to edge Brazilian Barrichello (1.35.881) and deny Brawn GP the top two times of the day.
Consistency is key
"The major thing for us at the moment is that this season we have consistency from one track to another," said Rosberg, who has looked quick in practice but had disappointing race results so far this season."We're now going to a race and not getting any big surprises as we seem to have learned from our mistakes from last year."
The Brawns were expected to dominate the weekend after their rear diffuser was declared legal on Wednesday but the Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel -- fourth and fifth quickest -- showed it was possible to go fast without one. "We had perfect driving conditions today so we'll see how we go tomorrow. I enjoyed it out there," Australian Webber said.
Hamilton fades
World champion Lewis Hamilton had put his McLaren team's troubles behind him by setting the quickest time in first practice but faded in the second session.
The 24-year-old finished 13th in the afternoon session at the track where he claimed his last win in 2008.
Ferrari's travails also continued with Felipe Massa 12th fastest in second practice and Kimi Raikkonen managing only the 14th best time for the reigning constructors' champions.
Raikkonen came off the track in both sessions, one of several drivers struggling with grip as teams weighed their tire choices for the weekend.
"The point is we are too slow compared to the teams currently at the top of the order," the Finnish 2007 world champion said. "We must try and improve the car, at the moment we are not able to fight for the title."
A third practice session takes place before qualifying Saturday. "Obviously we want to be on pole," Button said.