Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso are this evening the names at the top of the practice timesheets ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying session for the European Grand Prix in Valencia, Spain.
Webber was quickest in the earlier session, with almost a second cushion over Vitaly Petrov in the Renault. Alonso was third fastest then, with Lewis Hamilton and Nick Heidfeld slotting in fourth and fifth.
Alonso stepped up his game for the second of the two outings, however, delighting the partisan home crowd with his hottest lap some two and a half seconds better than Webber’s best in the first session. In part, Alonso’s dominance may have been due to his use of the softer Pirelli tyre.
Lewis Hamilton was again not far off the pace with second quickest, with Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa rounding out the top five.
European GP free practice 1:
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m40.403s 22
2. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m41.227s + 0.824 20
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m41.239s + 0.836 22
4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m41.510s + 1.107 23
5. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m41.580s + 1.177 24
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m41.758s + 1.355 23
7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m41.926s + 1.523 14
8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m41.955s + 1.552 20
9. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m42.043s + 1.640 22
10. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m42.216s + 1.813 29
11. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m42.270s + 1.867 26
12. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m42.412s + 2.009 27
13. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m42.704s + 2.301 23
14. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m42.738s + 2.335 20
15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m42.841s + 2.438 28
16. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m42.941s + 2.538 21
17. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m43.201s + 2.798 18
18. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m43.769s + 3.366 7
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m44.136s + 3.733 17
20. Jerome D’Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m45.026s + 4.623 17
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m45.221s + 4.818 19
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m45.494s + 5.091 24
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m46.926s + 6.523 27
24. Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault 2
European GP free practice 2:
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m37.968s 35
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.195s + 0.227 26
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m38.265s + 0.297 31
4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.315s + 0.347 30
5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m38.443s + 0.475 32
6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.483s + 0.515 30
7. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m38.531s + 0.563 26
8. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.981s + 1.013 33
9. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m39.040s + 1.072 35
10. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m39.586s + 1.618 27
11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m39.626s + 1.658 31
12. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m40.020s + 2.052 34
13. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m40.301s + 2.333 34
14. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m40.363s + 2.395 7
15. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m40.454s + 2.486 32
16. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m40.531s + 2.563 37
17. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m42.083s + 4.115 34
18. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m42.156s + 4.188 39
19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m42.239s + 4.271 25
20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m42.273s + 4.305 21
21. Jerome D’Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m42.809s + 4.841 36
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m44.460s + 6.492 29
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m46.906s + 8.938 16
