As it happened: 2011 Australia - Free Practice 2

• 05:23

  Welcome to Free Practice 2 in Australia

• 05:24

  Your usual host for all things Factbyte Factboxy is fast asleep, so Mr C is manning the pumps this morning.

• 05:26

  As usual, Sidepodcast has a live commenting thread for session discussion: https://sidepodcast.com/post/live-australia-2011-free-practice-2

• 05:26

  The fantastic dashboard allows you to comment, follow Twitter updates and see the FBFB too: https://sidepodcast.com/dashboard

• 05:27

  The video feed has begun and spots of rain can be seen. This could be a quiet session, phew!

• 05:29

  Official live timing is available here: http://www.formula1.com/live_timing/live_timing.html

• 05:30

  Nico Rosberg makes himself comfortable in his cockpit.

• 05:30

  Session started.

• 05:31

  Sergio Pérez is the first man on track in this session.

• 05:32

  Pérez is quickly followed by Jaime Alguersuari, it's his first time driving the 2011 Toro Rosso in Melbourne.

• 05:34

  Interview with Christian Horner: "Surprised with the tyre wear, had one issue with debris, so far it looks promising."

• 05:35

  9 cars now circulating the track as the first two runners put in a time.

• 05:37

  Comment from Paul at the circuit: "My stand is packed."

• 05:37

  Team radio to Timo Glock: "No more rain forecast."

• 05:39

  After experiencing troubles during FP1, the official F1 timing app tweets with good news: @f1timingapp: We're live. Cars are moving. Sorry for issues in P1. Please give the app time to connect - it will get there.

• 05:42

  Pastor Maldonado gets it wrong in the Williams, replays show him taking a little too much kerb, kicking up stones and debris as he makes his way back to the racing line.

• 05:43

  Team radio to Lewis Hamilton: "You are the fastest car on track - middle sector could still be improved a little."

• 05:45

  

  16°C

  Track	21°C
  Humidity	62%
  Wind speed	4.3mps

• 05:47

  5Live report that HRT might manage an installation lap today, but nothing more.

• 05:49

  Hamilton currently sits at the top of the timesheets with a 1:26.961. He's back in the pits now.

• 05:50

  Jarno Trulli mimicked Pastor's earlier mistake and then turned it up to eleven. He just managed to keep it out of the barriers, but will need to return to the pits for a dusting down.

• 05:56

  @OfficialLRPG: "Apparently there is more rain on the radar. Won't be heavy but could hit us soon."

• 06:01

  Only a handful of cars continue to circulate, the fastest of which is Jenson Button in 3rd place, while Felipe Massa closes in with a 4th pace time.

• 06:03

  Ian Phillips: "We've got to be very aware of the 107% rule at Virgin."

• 06:04

  JB puts in a purple first sector and goes top with a 1:26.706.

• 06:06

  That was Jenson's last timed lap. Schumacher puts in a fast S1 and hauls himself from 7th up to the top of the table with a 1.26:590.

• 06:07

  Inter-Team Battle

  Williams
  Rubens Barrichello	4th
  Pastor Maldonado	14th

• 06:11

  Mid-Field Positions

  10	Heidfeld	Renault GP
  11	Alguersuari	Toro Rosso
  13	Buemi	Toro Rosso
  14	Kobayashi	Sauber F1
  15	Maldonado	Williams

• 06:12

  Maldonado managed to lose a place while Barrichello retains his 4th position. A chasm of difference between old-hand and rookie.

• 06:16

  Plenty more pace to come from the track as Hamilton puts in two purple sectors on that last lap. Petrov manages two personal bests in S1 and S3 also, although he finds himself back in 9th.

• 06:17

  Interview with Daniel Ricciardo: "The first session goes fast, the track was not the cleanest. I wanted a bit more time down there., but all in all I was pretty happy with it.".

• 06:18

  Buemi gets it wrong in the braking zone and replays show him taking a trip across the gravel. No damage done.

• 06:19

  Comment from Nathan: "Buemi is on yellow tyres.. softs.. didn't even notice at first.."

• 06:20

  Looks like more teams are selecting the yellow Pirelli option tyres as Massa and Button both try them on for size.

• 06:21

  Comment from Steve Roy: "I hate that they call them options. It's compulsory to run them. There is no option."

• 06:22

  Vitaly Petrov is another driver to lock up in the braking zone and tip-toe across the gravel trap. Petrov was not running option tyres at the time.

• 06:24

  Top Speeds

  Sector 1	Button	286kph
  Sector 2	Rosberg	301kph
  Sector 3	Schumacher	305kph
  Speed trap	Kobayashi	314kph

• 06:25

  Button and Vettel are currently trading fastest first sector top speeds, while the Mercedes drivers appear to have the second and third sector speeds all to themselves.

• 06:27

  Tweet from @MikeGascoyne: Fuel pressure problem problem for Jarno and engine misfire for Heikki, both now fixed, tough day at the office today

• 06:29

  A quick look at the top of the table. Button leads, Hamilton and Alonso. Hamilton has completed 19 laps, Button 18 while Vettel has put in just 15.

• 06:34

  The F1 timing app offers additional data over the usual FOM feed. Sector speeds for all drivers. I can tell you for example that on his last lap on track, Rosberg managed the following speeds:

  S1: 281kph, S2: 301kph, S3: 303kph

  Look out for new graphs and charts based on this information during the weekend.

• 06:37

  Tweet from BadgerGP: the retro style numbers on the Williams look great, why can't all teams have such clear numbers!?

• 06:40

  Given Christine is missing this session, here's a gratuitous shot of Rob Smedley talking to Felipe Massa.

• 06:43

  Liuzzi hasn't given up on this session yet, he waits patiently in the back of the garage. Although time is running out for the Hispania team to put in an appearance.

• 06:45

  Hamilton briefly locks up all four tyres, as he attempts to turn in under a cloud of smoke. Spectacular to watch, but a slow way of tackling a lap.

• 06:46

  Comment from Sebastian: It looks fairly obvious that the seven out in Q1 will be Maldonado and the six from the newest teams.

• 06:48

  Hispania fire up the engine in their garage (via @AlbaSaiz)

• 06:49

  Paul at the circuit notes he can feel more spots of rain.

• 06:50

  Only four cars remain in the garage now, two Hispania's, Buemi and Jerome.

• 06:51

  It looks like rain might stop play.

• 06:51

  Only 9 minutes of the session remain, but we've almost certainly seen the best of conditions now.

• 06:52

  Maldonado crosses more grass, sideways, and ever so slightly out of control. Tough conditions to make your F1 debut.

• 06:54

  It's clear from listening to radio commentary that nobody has the faintest idea about the exact rules regarding the drag reduction system. Nearly three hours of on/off discussion and we're still none the wiser.

• 06:55

  

  16°C

  Track	17°C
  Humidity	67%
  Wind speed	6.1mps

  Track temperature has dropped significantly from the earlier high of 21°C, wind speed has picked up.

• 06:56

  3 minutes remain, will we see a HRT break cover today?

• 06:57

  Race control: DRS is disabled.

• 06:57

  The drag reduction system has been disabled by race control due to the weather.

• 06:58

  Liuzzi takes to the track. The car has an engine! Well done to all at Hispania.

• 06:59

  Less than 60 seconds of the session remain. A few cars continue to circulate.

• 07:00

  Liuzzi returns to the pitlane without crossing the line.

• 07:00

  Session complete.

• 07:02

  Jenson Button tops the timesheets in a much improved McLaren, that looked decided like mid-field runner during testing earlier this month.

• 07:02

  Narain Karthikeyan was the only man not to make it onto the track during FP2.

• 07:05

  Free Practice 2 Results

  1	J Button	McLaren
  2	L Hamilton	McLaren
  3	F Alonso	Ferrari
  4	S Vettel	Red Bull Racing
  5	M Webber	Red Bull Racing

• 07:10

  Gap to P1

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	BUT	1:25.854
  2nd	HAM	+0.132
  3rd	ALO	+0.279
  4th	VET	+0.439
  5th	WEB	+0.868

• 07:11

  Friday's child, Button lays down the marker for everyone to beat tomorrow.

• 07:13

  Both Red Bull and McLaren managed to keep their drivers within range of one and other, while Massa struggled to keep pace with Alonso. Schumacher also put some distance between himself and Rosberg in session two.

• 07:15

  In the mid-field it's clear Williams are a one car team, at least for the time being. Renault have yet to show any of their early testing pace, while di Resta did well to outpace his vastly more experienced team mate.

• 07:17

  This afternoon's session, masked much of the Pirelli option tyres fragility. Almost as soon as cracks began to appear, so did the rain. Drivers and teams will likely be hoping for less rain overnight in order to ensure reasonable conditions for qualifying tomorrow.

• 07:19

  It will be interesting to see how many teams we happy with their days running. Lotus seemed to make life unnecessarily hard for themselves, while Virgin appear short of pace right now.

• 07:22

  I have no idea what anyone else made of the adjustable wing, but I'm more confused than ever. Why anyone would introduce an aero device that is unsafe to run in changeable conditions is beyond me.

• 07:22

  Race control enabling and disabling movable parts on cars running at 300+kph also sounds like a recipe for disaster.

• 07:24

  That wraps up the Factbyte Factbox coverage for Friday in Melbourne, please join us again tomorrow for Free Practice 3 starting at 03:00 GMT.