NASCAR Cup Series

Teams get a quick look at the field

Published Mar. 16, 2012 3:43 p.m. ET

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McLaren driver Jenson Button set the fastest time on a wet and inconclusive day of practice Friday for Formula One's season-opening Australian Grand Prix, with all teams prevented from showing their true pace.

Button set the best time in opening practice, just ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton, and an afternoon downpour meant the second-session times were a couple of seconds off those set earlier.

In the second practice session, Mercedes' Michael Schumacher was fastest, 0.10 seconds ahead of Force India's Nico Hulkenberg.

Rain also affected the opening session, and dry-tire running was only possible in the final half hour. Button's best time of 1 minute, 27.560 seconds was 4 seconds off Sebastian Vettel's pole time in 2011.

''Even though it doesn't mean too much, it's always nice to start the season with the quickest time of the day,'' Button said.

The opening session should prove a better guide to how teams will perform in Saturday's qualifying session.

''Our car feels there or thereabouts, but, as in testing, we don't know the fuel-loads the others were running: it still looks close between ourselves, Red Bull and Mercedes,'' Hamilton said. ''It's going to be interesting tomorrow - we'll get a better understanding of who's going to be quick.''

Button was a quarter of a second ahead of Hamilton, and there was a gap of 0.4 back to Schumacher, followed by Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, local hope Mark Webber of Red Bull and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg. Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo, Williams' Pastor Maldonado, Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi rounded out the top 10.

Reigning world champion Vettel was curiously off the pace in both sessions, finishing 11th in the opening session and 10th in the second.

''The little time we had in the car this afternoon was OK, but now we have to find the balance and learn a bit more about the car,'' Vettel said. ''The important thing now is to make a step overnight and go from there.''

On the slim evidence of one day of practice, it appeared McLaren, Mercedes, and perhaps other teams, have closed the gap on Red Bull, which was so dominant last season when Vettel recorded a record number of pole positions and coasted to the title.

HRT, which failed to take part in preseason testing, did not set a time in the opening session, and Narain Karthikeyan's times were 13.5 seconds off the pace in the second period. Teammate Pedro de la Rosa did not complete a lap all day, as his car was still under construction.

Unless there is a marked improvement overnight, the team is unlikely to get within 7 percent of the best qualifying time - the standard to make it into Sunday's race.

Ferrari had been playing down expectations after a troubled preseason, yet Alonso's pair of fourth placings in both sessions indicated the team should at least be competitive on Saturday and in Sunday's race.

There was a forecast for morning rain on Saturday, clearing in the afternoon for qualifying, while Sunday's race was expected to be dry.

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