• Chinese Grand Prix - Free Practice 1

Button fastest as McLarens dominate

Martin Williamson April 16, 2010 « Lola not applying for 2011 grid slot | »
Sebastien Buemi climbs out of his wrecked Torro Rosso © Getty Images
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Jenson Button topped the timesheets after the first practice session at the Chinese Grand Prix, and with team-mate Lewis Hamilton third fastest, it was a good morning in the Shanghai sunshine for the McLarens. The pair were separated by Nico Rosberg, with the other Mercedes of Michael Schumacher back in fourth.

The morning was marked by a spectacular crash by Sebastien Buemi ten minutes before the end of the 90-minute session when his Torro Rosso suffered a sudden and catastrophic double suspension failure under heavy braking at the end of the straight. Both front wheels sheared off the car and he was pitched into the barrier and gravel trap at high speed. He was able to climb out of the car almost immediately.

The incident brought out the red flags and Buemi's team-mate Jaime Alguersuari's was withdrawn from the session as an immediate investigation started. There was no immediate comment from the Torro Rosso garage, while a clearly shaken Buemi refused to speak to the media as he headed back to his trailer.

Safety officials would also be worried that one of the car's wheels made it over the catch fencing into a spectator area.

The other drama came when Fernando Alonso pulled up shortly after starting a run with smoke pouring from his Ferrari. The team admitted it was the same engine which had been replaced in Bahrain, and it left Alonso the only one of the 24 drivers not to post a time. It also meant that after his retirement in Malaysia, Ferrari has already used two of the eight engines it is allowed for the season.

Button and Hamilton both looked impressive, and the McLarens set fastest times in every sector, with their performances on the straight raising the almost inevitable subject of F-ducts. Some cars had them - Alonso did for Ferrari while Felipe Massa, who finished tenth, appeared not to - but more should become apparent as the weekend goes on.

The Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber played a waiting game, staying away while others laid down rubber on a track which is known to be hard on tyres. But when they did appear they struggled, and Vettel only managed fifth fastest, almost a second behind Button.

Martin Williamson is managing editor of digital media ESPN EMEA

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Martin Williamson is managing editor of digital media ESPN EMEA Martin Williamson, who grew up in the era of James Hunt, Niki Lauda and sideburns, became managing editor of ESPN EMEA Digital Group in 2007 after spells with Sky Sports, Sportal and Cricinfo

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