The 2012 Formula 1 season officially inaugurated today in Melbourne, Australia as the McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets after drying conditions during the first Friday practice.
Jenson Button was 0.245s ahead of teammate Hamilton, while Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher completed the top three, 0.430s behind the McLaren duo.
Toro Rosso’s rookie driver Daniel Ricciardo showed impressive pace as he scored the seventh fastest time.
World Chamption Vettel had quiet running, and settled for 11th place.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m27.560s 2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m27.805s + 0.245 3. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m28.235s + 0.675 4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m28.360s + 0.800 5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m28.467s + 0.907 6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m28.683s + 1.123 7. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m28.908s + 1.348 8. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m29.415s + 1.855 9. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m29.565s + 2.005 10. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m29.722s + 2.162 11. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m29.790s + 2.230 12. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m29.865s + 2.305 13. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m29.881s + 2.321 14. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m29.953s + 2.393 15. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m30.124s + 2.564 16. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m30.515s + 2.955 17. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m30.586s + 3.026 18. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m30.743s + 3.183 19. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m31.178s + 3.618 20. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m31.983s + 4.423 21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m34.730s + 7.170 22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m40.256s + 12.696 23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth no time 24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth no time