The teams were forced to contend with overcast conditions and the occasional splattering of rain during the morning session. However, the weather could not be blamed for the first red flag of the day, with Sebastien Buemi's Toro Rosso coming to halt at the end of the home straight. The technical problem that caused the incident would prevent Buemi from posting a time during the morning session.Webber held the fastest time at the interval and didn't relinquish it for the remainder of the day, with the Australian putting the RB7 through its paces on 97 laps. Webber's top time was recorded during a qualifying-type stint which saw he post two very hot laps. What will perhaps be most pleasing for Red Bull is that they achieved both pace and mileage on the first of four days.
McLaren had tongues wagging early in the day as they began the action with a radical bulge on the nose of the car, which proved to be simply a measurement device rather than a technical innovation. Button was able to put the MP4-26 second in the standings, with a gap of + 0.366 viewed by some as a disappointing lack of pace but at the same time an improvement on previous showings.
Renault's progress was hampered by Nick Heidfeld struggling with the flu. The German completed 20 laps in the morning session, with his fastest being + 2.191 of the pace of Webber, but was forced to hand over the R31 to Vitaly Petrov for the afternoon. The Russian made the most of the opportunity; finishing third in the day's running.
GP2 driver Davide Valsecchi enjoyed his first outing with Lotus, and the Italian did himself proud with a competitive time of 1:25.406, although he will look to forget bringing the session to a halt when he found himself stuck in a gravel tap. Valsecchi's GP2 team-mate, Luiz Razia, was also given a run with team, and like Valsecchi marked his arrival by bringing out the red flag when he stopped out on track with just minutes left in the day.
Just moments earlier, as the curtain was about to be drawn on day one, Sauber's Sergio Perez appeared to have pulled somewhat of a miracle out of the bag when he registered a 1:21.176 but the time was later ruled out when the Mexican was found to have cut a chicane. Regardless, a final time of 1:24.117 can be seen as a promising effort.
Force India ran their KERS system for the first time on Tuesday, and afforded Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta the opportunity to try it out. Of the two, di Resta was quickest with a time of 1:25.039 while Hulkenberg had to settle for a best of 1:26.030.
Unofficial times:
01. Mark Webber Red Bull 1:22.544 38 laps
02. Jenson Button McLaren + 0.366 20 laps
03. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:22.937 50 laps
04. Sergio Perez Sauber 1:24.117 + 1.573 90 laps
05. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1:24.735 20 laps
06. Paul Di Resta Force India 1:25.039 44 laps
07. Davide Valsecchi Lotus 1:35.406 20 laps
08. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1:26.004 48 laps
09. Nico Hülkenburg Force India 1:26.030 31 laps
10. Luiz Razia Lotus 1:26.723 29 laps
11. Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin 1:32.060 57 laps
Source: Planet-F1
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