Mark Webber topped the timesheets after the first practice at Melbourne. Webber was just over three tenths over Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel, while Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was third.
Australian rookie Dan Ricciardo finished the session in 16th in a strong showing, just outside his teammate Sebastien Buemi who finished ahead in 14th for Toro Rosso.
Red Bull look to have continued their strong showing from 2010, sending an ominous warning to their rivals.
Of particular worry for the F1 teams were the new Pirelli tyres.
A close-up of Vettel’s front Pirelli showed a large chunk taken out of it, and many drivers had moments over a slippery, green Albert Park circuit.
Test driver Karun Chandhok was the first casualty of the day, losing the car at low speed into the wall. He told the team over radio he had no idea what had happened, indicating a possible failure in the car.
While the new teams of the F1 grid are no longer rookies, they remain a considerable margin off the pace.
The Hispania Racing Team (HRT) did not even appear on track, with rumours around the F1 paddock that they will only have one car ready, which were dismissed by the team.
Virgin Racing were some eight seconds off the pace of the Red Bull pair – and worryingly, may not even appear in the race. They were some 2.3s off the 107% qualifying rule reintroduced this year by the FIA.
Should they not be inside 107% of the fastest qualifying lap, they will not start the race.
1 2 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:26.831 219.862 20
2 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:27.158 0.327 219.037 19
3 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:27.749 0.918 217.561 20
4 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:28.152 1.321 216.567 16
5 11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:28.430 1.599 215.886 24
6 4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:28.440 1.609 215.862 29
7 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:28.483 1.652 215.757 26
8 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:28.690 1.859 215.253 14
9 16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:28.725 1.894 215.168 13
10 10 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:28.765 1.934 215.071 15
11 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:28.842 2.011 214.885 20
12 9 Nick Heidfeld Renault 1:28.928 2.097 214.677 14
13 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:29.314 2.483 213.749 19
14 18 Sébastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:29.328 2.497 213.716 21
15 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1:29.403 2.572 213.536 24
16 19 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:29.468 2.637 213.381 23
17 17 Sergio Pérez Sauber-Ferrari 1:29.643 2.812 212.965 18
18 15 Nico Hülkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1:31.002 4.171 209.784 20
19 20 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1:32.428 5.597 206.548 13
20 25 Jérôme d’Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1:35.282 8.451 200.361 17
21 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:35.289 8.458 200.346 15
22 21 Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault No Time 1
23 22 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth No Time
24 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth No Time
Chenzhou
Guest
Dear webbe First, to send this email, I am very pleased to bring a lot of trouble Please forgive me, I am a high school students from China, my name is Chen Zhou, in this Good days, I welcome you the opportunity to come to China in the world is a very large Countries. It has a long history. There are many interesting places. Such as the Great Wall, Forbidden City, etc. So many people come here every year to visit. And it held the Olympic Games in 2008 It will become more and more beautiful. Here, I sincerely send my best wishes to you, wish you success in your work Live happy, happy family. I have been concerned about you, look forward to your arrival You can send some signed photos to me? I as the best memorial. Thank you My address is Chenzhou 800 xiejia road, jiangbei 315032 ningbo, zhejiang China A blessing from China Chenzhou
Tristan Rayner
Editor
@Mark Young - just spoke to the Virgin guys (very hospitable team), and they're hurting, very badly. I think we all expected the gap to close up as the teams used their experience to turn out a refined car, but it's clear the new regulations have pushed them further back. Tyres are the issue; they're not out of it, but they're fighting to make it into the race itself. I'll give you good odds on Jensen mate. McLaren aren't close enough for my money. @Brett - Ha! That made me smile here mate. Webber's got a good chance of being at the top (well, the top two) - but there are just so many unknowns that it's entirely possible a good strategy by a team like Mercedes or Williams that manage to keep out of trouble could cause an upset.
Brett McKay
Guest
Tristan, that's the first time I've seen what HRT stands for, all this time I just chuckled thinking Holden were having a crack at F1 :D Great start to the weekend from Webber and Red Bull, let's hope there's a few tricks up the sleeve still for Sunday...
Mark Young
Roar Guru
Great to see the cars back on the track! PLUSES Webber looks sharp Red Bull second up on rest of field. Tyre degradation will ensure this race is wild! Ricciardo showing great pace MINUSES Red Bull second up on rest of field, I thought at least Ferrari would be there about. I am going to go and put a tenner on Jenson winning the race again. Being so kind on his tyres could be a godsend! Virgin and HRT are nowhere near making the race, worrying lack of progress,