Four drivers beat Webber's Thursday best before lunch
No fewer than four runners at Barcelona on Friday morning put Mark Webber's impressive Thursday pace firmly in the past. Led by Fernando Alonso, who was eight tenths quicker than the Australian driver's qualifying simulation of 24 hours ago, ...
No fewer than four runners at Barcelona on Friday morning put Mark Webber's impressive Thursday pace firmly in the past.
Led by Fernando Alonso, who was eight tenths quicker than the Australian driver's qualifying simulation of 24 hours ago, Sauber's Pedro de la Rosa was also significantly faster than the Red Bull had been on Thursday.
The all Spanish one-two delighted the partisan crowd, whose numbers surpassed Thursday's 15,000 after morning traffic jams set the scene for the day.
Before day two in dry Spain broke for lunch, Tonio Liuzzi (Force India) and Webber's teammate Sebastian Vettel had also lapped beneath Webber's Thursday time of 1.21.487.
In the Mercedes W01, Michael Schumacher - trying a new unpainted Schuberth helmet prototype - had not managed to beat Webber's time by lunch, but his teammate Nico Rosberg said he was not worried.
"We can match the (Webber) time and probably even go faster -- that's why it is nothing to get nervous about," the German told F1's official website.
It should be noted that drivers were reporting the track surface in much better condition on Friday morning.
"The track wasn't great," Alonso said on Thursday, while Liuzzi said the track had been "really green".
Share Or Save This Story
The season is still very long - Rosberg
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
What the drivers are expecting from F1's return to Sepang
"Whenever I watch TV, I think I would do better" – The real reason Fernando Alonso stays in F1
Fernando Alonso’s idea to ‘save’ F1 before the V8 return – and how realistic it is
George Russell: “You’ve got to laugh” at bad luck as F1 title drifts away
Max Verstappen responds to George Russell: "Maybe I should take him to the sauna!"
As Mercedes looks to deal F1 2026 knockout blow, will its driver fight reignite?
“It’s a joke” – Isack Hadjar rues ‘disastrous’ race in “horrible” car with “no battery”
Explained: What was really going on with the FIA software bug causing F1 chaos in Malaysia
"Horrible, totally unacceptable" - Powerless F1 drivers frustrated by Bahrain F1 software glitch
WRC Sardinia: Elfyn Evans claims historic title after Oliver Solberg crashes in final-stage showdown
You Ask The Questions: Emerson Fittipaldi
The wide world of strategy options expected in F1's Bahrain GP in Malaysia
How drivers waiting in the wings can still make their presence count in F1
What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 Bahrain GP in Malaysia
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments