Rosberg fastest as Force India decide not to compete

April 20, 2012 07:06 pm | Updated 07:06 pm IST - Bahrain

Mercedes Grand Prix driver Nico Rosberg of Germany looks on in the pits during the first free practice ahead the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at the Formula One Bahrain International Circuit in  Bahrain, on April 20, 2012.

Mercedes Grand Prix driver Nico Rosberg of Germany looks on in the pits during the first free practice ahead the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at the Formula One Bahrain International Circuit in Bahrain, on April 20, 2012.

Nico Rosberg on Friday showed that last weekend’s pole and victory at the Chinese Grand Prix was no accident by posting the fastest time in free practice for Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

The German Mercedes driver managed a time of one minute 32.816 seconds for the 5.412 kilometre-long lap, beating Red Bull’s Mark Webber by 0.446 seconds.

World champion Sebastian Vettel in the second Red Bull posted the third-fastest time.

There have been ongoing pro-democracy demonstrations in the country and there have been calls for the race to be cancelled, but the sports’ governing body FIA ruled that it would go ahead.

Protests demanding political reform and greater freedoms began last year and forced the cancellation of the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix.

More than 70 people have died in the protests.

The Force India team decided not to compete in the second free practice session Friday due to security concerns as they wanted to be in their hotel before sundown.

“For logistical reasons the team will run a rescheduled programme for the rest of the weekend, which will result in the team missing second practice to ensure the most competitive performance in FP3 (the third free practice), qualifying and the race,” the team said in a statement.

Force India team members were involved in an incident late Wednesday, when their hired car was stuck in a traffic jam and a petrol bomb exploded nearby.

As a result, two members of the team decided to return home.

Earlier Friday, world championship leader Lewis Hamilton in a McLaren, was fastest in the first free practice.

Hamilton, who has a two point lead from his team-mate Jenson Button, posted a 1:33.572 beating Vettel by 0.305 seconds.

Force India’s Paul di Resta had the third fastest time. Rosberg had the fourth-fastest time in the first session.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.