Fernando Alonso ended the first practice session of 2014 quickest for Ferrari as several of his rivals failed to set times at all.
Neither Lotus nor Caterham managed to get a time on the board as the two Renault-powered teams continued to experience difficulties. And Lewis Hamilton only made it halfway around his first lap when his engine shut-down following an oil pressure sensor warning.
Alonso’s best time of 1’31.840 was 4.6 seconds off the best time seen in the same session last year as teams continue to adjust to their new cars.
Jenson Button was second-quickest for McLaren despite a problem with his engine early in the session which was quickly resolved. The two Williams drivers were next, Valtteri Bottas ahead of Felipe Massa.
There was some encouragement for Red Bull as Daniel Ricciardo managed 26 laps in front of his home crowd and set the fifth-fastest time. Sebastian Vettel joined the track later in the session and ended up seventh, with the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg separating the pair.
As was widely expected many teams suffered problems during the first practice session of the year. Besides the drivers who did not set times others to suffer setbacks included Kimi Raikkonen, who had an MGU-K problem on his Ferrari.
The Marussia drivers covered just ten laps between them. Max Chilton had to abort one run on his way out of the pits due to a throttle problem. Another run ended badly as he knocked over a trolley as he returned to the pits.
The Toro Rosso drivers completed more running than any other team but were visibly struggling with their brakes, Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Eric Vergne sliding into the Albert Park gravel traps on several occasions.
But that was better than Lotus managed. Pastor Maldonado left the pits once and returned soon afterwards, a fault having put him off the track. And Romain Grosjean never even made it out of his garage.
Image © Ferrari/Ercole Colombo
reiter (@reiter)
14th March 2014, 3:19
The new cars sound absolutely beautiful, especially in the cockpit cams. I was also glad that most teams didn’t have on-track problems like we saw during testing, but then again this was a pretty short session. I’m on my edge for P2 in two hours time!
Zibit
14th March 2014, 3:24
As a former CART/Champcar fan, I too really enjoy the sound. Its not as deep as the V8’s but still sounds great, to me. Can’t wait to hear a full field of them!
mantresx (@mantresx)
14th March 2014, 3:26
One question are the onboard cameras in HD now? Wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t…
reiter (@reiter)
14th March 2014, 3:43
I think they were – or so they looked. I didn’t pay much attention to the video as much as the glorious sound though.
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
14th March 2014, 3:55
Along the nice new, quieter engine sounds I really liked that we could clearly hear the tyre squeals after blocking. I thought after that it will be interesting to hear the noises during crashes (though I hope there won’t be many of them) and great to hear the crowds cheering!
If it weren’t for the DRS and double points, F1 would pretty much be perfect now with all these new stuff going on!
Sankalp Sharma (@sankalp88)
14th March 2014, 4:15
@reiter
One thing I personally like, is that the sound of the radio is much more clearer due to the quieter PU.
Kazihno (@kazinho)
14th March 2014, 4:40
You are in a minority if you like the new sound.
Alan Jones is on commentary duty for Australian TV: “To me that sounds horrible”.
Twitter was awash with revulsion.
The supporting V8 Supercar drivers are now claiming they have the loudest category.
Chris (@tophercheese21)
14th March 2014, 4:45
I really dont like Alan Jones’s commentary. On most of the subjects he talks about, he’s ill-informed and generally wrong. Not to mention he can barely pronounce half the drivers names correctly.
I think the new engines sounds good. They’re not as loud as the old V8’s, but if you expected them to be as loud, then you’re expectations are flawed.
It’s different. You lot will come around eventually.
MaroonJack (@maroonjack)
14th March 2014, 6:32
From what I saw most people like the rich sound and the character of new power units. Those who complain, only do it because it’s not as loud. I think that volume and the quality of the sound are two completely different things. To me the new engines sound way better than V8’s, just not as loud.
Mike (@mike)
14th March 2014, 14:08
@kazinho
Not according to this.
JohnBt (@johnbt)
14th March 2014, 5:27
After watching FP1 the sound is really horrible IMHO. I thought it will be more of a deeper tone like the sport cars. Go listen to the 2014 SuperGT, it’s got so much more balls. I’m truly disappointed. But just hope for close racing even if the times are much slower.
Did you watch the press conference yesterday? Gosh the drivers sounded kinda apprehensive and dejected especially Lewis.
smokinjoe (@smokinjoe)
14th March 2014, 6:16
yes it sounds ok but nothing compared to v8
Daniel
14th March 2014, 6:06
I can’t believe that people are liking the new sound. Those who actually attend GPs will understand how much adrenalin the v8s or v10s brought with their shrill. I may as well go and watch Porsche Cup.
graham221228
14th March 2014, 8:22
I think FOM have got the levels slightly off – they sounded great on the onboard footage, but too quiet off-board. Some small tweaks and the TV footage will sound awesome. Love the tyre squeals.
I wouldn’t be surprised if V8 supercars or NASCAR have louder engines, but then again I don’t care.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
14th March 2014, 3:21
Love how the cars looked on track, they are snaking around and visibly slower in cornering speed, the red Bull looks very low beautiful at speed and quick, even the 1:37 onboard of Ricciardo showed how incredible quickly this cars get to 300! The volume the atmospheric sound is missing but what I found more disconcerting is how little of the drivers was expressed amidst all the chaos of driving a 2014 car, I could spot Massa’s driving style but apart from him everything felt refrained. As of now the pecking order isn’t much changed, I think Alonso’s time is clearly a reflection of Ferrari’s tradition of running light on FPs.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
14th March 2014, 3:28
I forgot to mention that in my opinion RedBull’s supposed camera solution is elegant but not a good idea and not to my liking. After years with mandatory cameras, there are reasons why people hadn’t incorporated them before, first you need very high engineering and development and costs secondly it makes me wonder if the camera stands to the same rules as the others, size shape and weight, according to the book it should retain all those aspects even if it is enclosed which is not mentioned therefore a loophole because the camera’s properties are clearly changed in that scenario, good thinking though it also looks better that way.
Chris (@tophercheese21)
14th March 2014, 3:23
Pretty interesting session. All the cars looked very slow, but I suspect they’re not running anywhere near full power just yet.
The Williams is looking good, and so is the Mclaren, however the latter looks very understeery from the onboard shots.
Michael (@sfspeedster)
14th March 2014, 3:26
Found some pics of the red bull with its covers off
crr917 (@crr917)
14th March 2014, 3:27
Tough start of the 2014 season. Onboard sound is terrible, “new” FOM graphics are crap and the life timing on f1.com is useless.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
14th March 2014, 3:33
@crr917 Hated the FOM graphics aswell. At home the onboard sounds more like a normal detuned F1 engine simply put lower revving, but with with the McLaren I could listen to the turbo on lift off, as for the redbull I couldn’t catch the turbo sound much it sounded to me more like any other Renault F1 engine perhaps a 96 or 97 Williams-Renault.
mantresx (@mantresx)
14th March 2014, 3:42
@peartree The turbo is always up to speed, that’s the theory at least, that no matter what the engine is doing the ERS always keeps the turbo pressure constant, that gives no lag and the engine behaves just like before.
Dizzy
14th March 2014, 3:34
There the same graphics as last year & I really like the new tweaks that have been made incorporating the drivers numbers. only negative is the unnecessarily large rolex graphic.
mantresx (@mantresx)
14th March 2014, 3:35
The onboard sound is spoiled a little bit by the turbo, it’s like a vacuum cleaner constantly on but from the outside it’s much better.
You’re right I feel cheated by the “new” graphics, it really is a step backwards, the only good news for me is that my broadcaster finally decided to use FOMs NTSC signal, instead of PAL and everything is clear as day now :)
Swindle94 (@swindle94)
14th March 2014, 3:31
Seems like Button could have been much quicker if the Mclaren wasn’t understeering through every corner
Diego (@ironcito)
14th March 2014, 3:32
If these times are representative, things have changed considerably since the pre-season. But I don’t think anyone was really going all-out, so we’ll have to wait until qualifying.
Jon (@johns23)
14th March 2014, 3:35
Weird not being able to hear the cars through the city in Melbourne. Loved watching the on-board of Ricciardo (not so much of the sound) you could tell when he got on the gas the amount of torque the car has, its like he was getting catapulted out of the corner. love it. looking forward to FP2
Toxic
14th March 2014, 4:02
Indeed it is very weird to not hear the sound. I live around 10k fro the track and could hear the cars last year. Now it’s nothing. But at least you don’t need earplugs anymore. I still haven’t hear the sound in real but I’ll be there on Sunday so can’t wait. I am very curious if the Gearboxes are as loud as last year.
hzh (@hzh00)
14th March 2014, 3:39
Finally, F1 2014 had begun, and thank you Keith for keeping us up to date throughout the winter.
The main thing I noticed during the first on-board lap on a Renault-powered car (I think it was Ricciardo), I said wow what a weird sound (personally I did not like it at all) and I was somewhat disappointed. Then, after hearing a Mercedes-powered car I said thanks God, that sounded awesome. I also liked the sound Ferrari-powered cars, they sound pretty smooth and quiter than the others.
Another thing that I have liked is that with the new formula, it is the first season I can hear the tyres squeak throughout the corners and during lockups.
Additionally, with all the big talks about the new noses during pre-season, they certainly did not have much of my attention as there are so much other things to focus on while watching.
I cant wait for Sunday.
hzh (@hzh00)
14th March 2014, 3:52
*has begun
F12345
14th March 2014, 3:58
That Merc sounded awsome. I listened through some fairly decent headphones so I didn’t wake the wife. The Merc works car sounds the absolute business, plus the cars look a handful on track too. These are exciting times for F1, I’m already hooked on the new ‘era’………..what funny shaped noses???? Can’t say I noticed, the rest of the cars are so aesthetically pleasing along with some good use of colour, the only noses i really was Caterham and Toro Roso, others than that I didn’t give it another though.
F12345
14th March 2014, 4:00
*really noticed was……
Stupid phone and tired eyes, but worth staying up.
Coanda (@ming-mong)
14th March 2014, 3:39
Love the attitude on these new cars.
Did RBR use DR as guinea pig? 16laps more than Seb…
Pinak Ghosh
14th March 2014, 3:46
The RBR is in the mix..they have a fast car for sure
OOliver
14th March 2014, 3:47
What happened to the atmosphere.
The cars sound like mine on a drive to the supermarket, I keep thinking they are just coasting, yet they are setting reasonable times.
SeaHorse (@seahorse)
14th March 2014, 3:48
I am really glad to see the 2014 cars in action live. Some interesting outings happened because of drivers literally testing the brake by wire system. The Caterhams had no run while the Red Bulls managed a reasonable number of laps and the Mercedes hitting some trouble. Change of fortunes?
karter22 (@karter22)
14th March 2014, 3:49
I know we aren´t suposed to think much about P1 times but it seems that Ferrari might have just gotten it right this time!
I feel so relieved now that I have actually seen the F14-t run!! And so much for Kimi beating ALO!
F12345
14th March 2014, 4:02
It says in the article that Kimi had MGU-k problems, he didn’t get too much running in
bhavesh
14th March 2014, 4:06
alonso is a beast
Kingshark (@kingshark)
14th March 2014, 4:34
@karter22
I think that you might be getting a little bit too excited from FP1 alone, though Ferrari did look good today, and Fernando appeared more comfortable than Kimi in the car.
Nonetheless, with Ferrari’s advanced cooling and fuel consumption system, I think that the race will be their biggest strength (as always).
karter22 (@karter22)
14th March 2014, 5:20
@kingshark
totally agree with you. I did get excited seeing that right after Button took ALO off the top, ALO just stood up and geared up to go set the fastest time one more time. It was a good feeling! I think Ferrari do have something up their sleeves and they do have a quick car!
I must say, the R-B-10 did look painfully slow. Not something I particularly enjoyed. It was quite surprising to see Ricciardo up there though.
Williams did look quick, especialy in Massa´s hands! I think Bottas is going to get his bum served on a platter this season!
Maldonado seemed he wanted to jump into the lake and never surface! hahahahaa
Also, the McLaren seemed quicker to me than the MERC! interesting!
All in all, a good P1 session, can´t wait for P2 and see if they set quicker times. They surely weren´t running full boost it seems. I just hope Ferrari keep moving forward, it seems this is the most promising season I´ve seen so far in a looooooong time.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
14th March 2014, 6:29
@karter22
Wait, what? I’m confused.
karter22 (@karter22)
14th March 2014, 14:41
@kingshark
It´s just to be fair…. I loathe RBR with a passion but I just don´t want ALO to stomp them without a fight.
All I saw in P1 and P2 indicates to me that Ferrari is quick, maybe as quick, if not quicker than MERC but I guess we have to wait for tomorrow and find out who is on top.
If ALO manages to start 3rd, it´s a done deal!
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
14th March 2014, 5:31
Ferrari will not be on Pole.
This was probably a low fuel qualifying sim..I cant believe that they are 0.5 secs ahead of the competition all of a sudden. Kimi’s time is probably more representative.
@HoHum (@hohum)
14th March 2014, 4:00
Right now we’ve FP1 it’s time to panic and change all those predictions.
@HoHum (@hohum)
14th March 2014, 4:00
SEEN FP1
SeaHorse (@seahorse)
14th March 2014, 4:10
Hahahaha.. :) I will wait till FP3 to change mine ;)
karter22 (@karter22)
14th March 2014, 5:24
I assume you meant to say: ” change al those bets ” !! hahaaha
Xabi Alonso
14th March 2014, 4:14
The best is yet to come from Ferrari. Thats not their best and Alonso clearly demonstrates why he is the best driver in f1. Compare his result to iceman.
Tega Enajekpo
14th March 2014, 4:57
Hey Lewis ‘all things happen for a reason’. It was he’s divine will that your car couldn’t work. Idiot
colinh2001 (@colinh2001)
14th March 2014, 5:05
I’m trackside and the F1 cars are quieter than the V8s now.
When the speed comparison was run with David Coultard in an old Red Bull just that one F1 car shows how much the sound has changed
Sir Teukka (@merioksa)
14th March 2014, 5:13
I would love to see a “do you like the new sound of F1?” (or something like that) vote here.
Xusen (@xusen)
15th March 2014, 3:06
@merioksa Looks like your wish granted mate…
https://www.racefans.net/2014/03/14/like-sound-new-f1-engines/
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
14th March 2014, 5:25
Can someone tell me why is the DRS detection point three corners ahead of the first zone, and then still pretty much in contact with the next zone which is further two corners away?
Coanda (@ming-mong)
14th March 2014, 6:39
Are they even hitting 8th gear? From what I can count they seem to only be hitting 7th…
I think VJ got it right. Way too quite for F1.
OneBHK (@onebhk)
14th March 2014, 8:05
Forza Ferrari
Poul Winther (@poul)
14th March 2014, 9:28
What an odd point in time to start makingassumptions and prpredictions. The preseason testing is so limited and at the first run after the tweaks from the last test and especially entering a very different track each driver will set out with a long task list of things to try. This is most likely even further from being indicative than latest tests have been.
But it’s great to get the season started.
@HoHum (@hohum)
14th March 2014, 12:30
@poul, well it’s not an assumption when we observe the Red Bull not only getting out of the garage but putting pretty decent runs and times on the board.