Australian GP: McLaren Friday practice notes

Team McLaren Mercedes drivers David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen finished today's two practice sessions in eighth and 10th positions setting fastest times of 1:26.215 and 1:26.579 respectively. David and Kimi completed 22 laps in total each. Today was the first time that the Formula One World Championship ran under the one engine per race weekend regulation and as a result most teams did a limited amount of laps.

David Coulthard:

"Like the majority of the other teams, we ran a limited amount of laps as a result of the one engine rule. However we went through our set programme which was aimed at establishing where we are on tyres as we have to make the decision by Saturday morning. We will now concentrate on tomorrow which is when the action really starts."

Kimi Raikkonen:

"We focused on trying to find the right tyres for the weekend and went through our planned programme. I'm not too happy with the set up of the car at the moment, but we will work on it overnight and hopefully improve for tomorrow."

Ron Dennis:

"With today's practice sessions not contributing to grid or qualifying positions, teams have understandably adopted different strategies for what, is effectively a test in preparation for the real event. As a result times are of little significance. We went through our programme and are looking forward to the rest of the weekend."

Norbert Haug:

"In the Michelin camp five teams were within half a second today. Ferrari was in a class of its own, so everybody will be working on closing the gap during the rest of the weekend."

David Coulthard: MP4-19 03
Kimi Raikkonen: MP4-19 04
T-car (David): MP4-19 01
Spare: MP4-19 02

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