australia-gp-bridgestone-motorsports-friday-kimi-raikkonen-ferrari-mark-webber-red-bull-tyres-hamashima

Reigning champion Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)blasted to the top of the timesheets with Bridgestone’s medium compound Potenza tyre on the opening day of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship, the first season with Bridgestone as the Official Tyre Supplier.

Raikkonen set a time of 1min 26.461secs at the 5.30km Albert Park track, scene of the ING Australian Grand Prix in the Victoria State capital of Melbourne. His time was set in the day’s first 90 minute practice session and he was almost half a second faster than the next quickest driver, Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes).

The afternoon practice session saw Hamilton go quickest using the soft compound with a slightly slower time than the morning’s fastest, with a 1min 26.599secs. Hamilton displaced local hero Mark Webber (Red Bull) who had been quickest for most of the session with a 1min 27.473secs.

Both Bridgestone’s medium and soft compound were put through their paces in searing temperatures on the street course, set in picturesque parkland south of Melbourne’s city centre. The morning session was briefly interrupted with red flags after Nelson Piquet (Renault) span, whilst many competitors had moments off the track as they sought faster times.

The best lap time achieved today was almost a second quicker than the fastest Friday lap last year, a 1min 27.353secs, set by Felipe Massa (Ferrari), although the weather was less favourable in 2007.

Hirohide Hamashima - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development, said:

"It was good to have the first sessions at a grand prix after a long off season of testing. Despite the hot weather here in Melbourne our tyres performed reasonably. Although we saw today’s fastest lap set using the medium compound, I expect the soft compound to be the quicker for most competitors, with the medium offering more durable and consistent performance.

However, it is very difficult to judge which driver is quicker, as the teams will use different set-ups, for example with fuel load.

Although we have high temperatures for Melbourne, we did see a hotter track last season using these compounds, for example in Indianapolis, so we do not have concerns. As expected, the track started dirty and we expect it to improve over the weekend and we should see less graining because of this."

Stats of the Day

Total amount of laps completed by all drivers: 979 laps

Average number of laps per driver: 44.5 laps

Most laps by a driver: 62 – Sebastian Vettel

Fastest lap: 1min 26.461secs – Raikkonen (FP1)

Compounds used: Medium / Soft

Qualifying in 2007

Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) set pole position using the soft compound Bridgestone Potenza tyre last season with a time of 1min 26.072secs, over four tenths quicker than the second fastest driver, Fernando Alonso (McLaren Mercedes). Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes) were on the second row.

Temperatures Ambient Track Weather

AM – Practice 31C-36C 33C-38C Sunny

PM – Practice 37C-39C 42C-43C-42C Sunny / hazy

- Rachel Ingham – Andy Stobart – photos Bridgestone

Melbourne to stage Australian Grand Prix until 2015 04.07.08

Melbourne will continue to host the Australian Grand Prix until at least 2015 after securing a new contract with Formula One Management. Contrary to media speculation, there will be no night races in Albert Park, but next year’s event will start...

Driver & manufacturers standings - and video 18.03.08

Watch the video on www.formula1.com DRIVER STANDINGS after Australian GP 1 Lewis Hamilton British McLaren-Mercedes 10 2 Nick Heidfeld German BMW 8 3 Nico Rosberg German Williams-Toyota 6 4 Fernando Alonso Spanish Renault 5 5...

Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes F1 - De-Brief - Martin Whitmarsh 17.03.08

Following the season opening Australian Grand Prix yesterday, Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Formula 1, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, discusses the race and looks forward to the next few months for the team. Victory for Lewis Hamilton and a strong...

A fourth place finish for Fernando Alonso 17.03.08

2008 Australian Grand Prix, Sunday The ING Renault F1 Team made the most of an eventful Australian Grand Prix to claim a fourth place finish with Fernando Alonso. But the joy was tempered by the retirement of Nelson Piquet, who was unable to...

Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes F1 Australian Grand-Prix review 16.03.08

Albert Park, Melbourne, Sunday 16th March 2008 Lewis Hamilton MP4-23 04 Heikki Kovalainen MP4-23 03 2008 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, the first...

AT&T Williams F1 - Australian Grand-Prix review 16.03.08

AUSTRALIA GRAND PRIX – RACESUNDAY 16 MARCH, 2008 MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA 58 LAPS / 307.574kms / 191.117 milesWEATHER SunnyAir 36-380C, Track 46-510C POS DRIVER TEAM Time / Gap (Fastest Lap) Grid 1 L Hamilton McLaren 1:34:50.616 (1:27.452, 2nd)...

Bourdais fantastique 16.03.08

2008 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX - SUNDAY 16/03/08 Today, our new boy joined an elite band of drivers who have finished in the points on their F1 debut. Sebastien Bourdais (STR2B-03) Pos. 8th "It's not the first time I've experienced...

Red Bull Racing F1 - Definitely Not Finished 16.03.08

with the 2008 season yet… AUSTRALIAN GRAND-PRIx 2008 Car 9, DAVID COULTHARD, (Finish Position DNF, Start Position: 8th) I can understand that Felipe (Massa) was in a quicker car and was trying to overtake, but you've got to have your...

Force India Formula One Team race review 16.03.08

2008 Australian Grand Prix Race Report Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM01/02): DNF: Hydraulic Lap 9 Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM01/05): DNF: Accident Lap 1 16 March 2008 - The 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship got off to a...

Panasonic Toyota Racing F1 - Grand Prix review 16.03.08

Sunday 16 March 2008 Today's Weather: Hot and sunny, air 36-37C, track 47-51C Timo Glock (Car 12, Chassis TF108-04) Summary: Battled well on one-stop strategy until heavy accident at turn 12 on lap 44 Race Classification: DNF Qualifying...

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Australian Grand Prix report 16.03.08

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes) has won the first Grand Prix with Bridgestone as Formula One’s Official Tyre Supplier after using a medium-medium-soft compound Potenza tyre strategy in the ING Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park. Hamilton...

Formula1 - ING Australian Grand-Prix Results 16.03.08

2008 FORMULA 1 ING AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 1 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 58 1:34:50.616 1 10 2 3 Nick Heidfeld BMW 58 +5.4 secs 5 8 3 7 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 58 +8.1 secs 7 6 4 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 58 +17.1 secs 11...

Force India F1 Team - Melbourne Qualifying review 15.03.08

2008 Australian Grand Prix Qualifying and Final Free Practice Report Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM01/03): FP3: 17th 1:27.489 (18 laps) Q1: 19th 1:27.859 (9 laps) Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM01/05): FP1: 9th 1:26.682 (18 laps) Q1: 17th...

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 Melbourne Qualifying review 15.03.08

Albert Park, Melbourne, Saturday 15th March 2008 Lewis Hamilton MP4-23 04 Heikki Kovalainen MP4-23 03 2008 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton achieved the first pole position of the 2008 Formula...

AT&T Williams F1 - Qualifying review 15.03.08

AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA5.303 KMS / 3.295 MILESWEATHER Clear & sunnyAIR 22-250C, TRACK 37-420C QUAL DRIVER TEAM Q1 Q2 Q31 L Hamilton McLaren - - 1:26.7142 R Kubica BMW Sauber - - 1:26.8693 H Kovalainen...

Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 - Qualifying review 15.03.08

Sebastian Vettel (STR2B-04) "In one sense this was a good session as I had a strong pace in Q2. I had a good lap at the end of it. Unfortunately, a technical problem meant I could not take part in Q3, but whatever happens I plan to attack to...

Red Bull Racing F1 - The fast and the furious 15.03.08

Common, a Grammy award-winning rap artist and star of The Fast and the Furious (a film about illegal road racing), seen here in the Red Bull Racing garage, was the star attraction of our season opening party in Melbourne docks last night. Given...

Panasonic Toyota Racing F1 - The F1 Effect in Melbourne 15.03.08

2007 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX - SATURDAY 15/03/08 Today's Weather: Warm and sunny, air 23-30C, track 36-42C Jarno Trulli (Car 11, Chassis TF108-02) Summary: Safely through to Q3 and row three PROVISIONAL GRID: 6th FP3 10th Best Lap Time: 1m...

FIIA Saturday press conference after qualifying 15.03.08

DRIVERS: 1. Lewis HAMILTON (McLaren Team), 1m26.714s 2. Robert KUBICA (BMW Sauber), 1m26.869s 3. Heikki KOVALAINEN (McLaren Mercedes), 1m27.079s Q: Lewis, a new look to qualifying and a sensational qualifying session. Obviously...

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Saturday Update 15.03.08

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes) will be the first grand prix driver to start a race from pole position with Bridgestone as Formula One’s Official Tyre Supplier after using the soft compound Potenza tyre to set a time of 1min 26.714secs at...

Formula1 Melbourne Qualifying results 15.03.08

2008 FORMULA 1 ING AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 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...

Saturday practice results - BMW leads the field 15.03.08

2008 FORMULA 1 ING AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 1 4 Robert Kubica BMW 1:25.613 18 2 3 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:25.950 0.337 16 3 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:26.082 0.469 14 4 7 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:26.171 0.558 17 5 9 David Coulthard Red...

Kangaroo Media signs AT&T Williams for bespoke Kangaroo TV 15.03.08

As cars and crews descend on Albert Park in Melbourne for Formula One’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, the AT&T Williams team will also launch a new bespoke AT&T Williams Kangaroo handheld TV. The AT&T Williams team have...

Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes F1 - Melbourne Friday review 14.03.08

Albert Park, Melbourne, Friday 14th March 2008 Lewis Hamilton MP4-23 04Heikki Kovalainen MP4-23 03 2008 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX FREE PRACTICE The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team began the 2008 Formula 1 season at Albert Park in...

Force India Formula One Team - Free Practice review 14.03.08

2008 Australian Grand Prix Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM01/03): FP1: 17th 1:30.155 (13 laps) FP2: 17th 1:29.161 (32 laps) Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM01/05): FP1: 12th 1:29.230 (24 laps) FP2: 9th 1:28.469 (32 laps) The 2008 FIA...

[:: previous ] [ next ::]