Prac Two: Hamilton leads Button

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button made the most of a brief dry spell to top the timesheets in Friday's second practice for the Aussie GP.

With light rain falling at intermittent periods throughout the 90-minute session, Hamilton clocked a 1:25.801 during an early dry spell, putting him 0.275s up on his team-mate.

And with more rain coming down later it appeared as if the McLaren drivers would easily walk the session before a drying track near the end of practice saw Mark Webber and Michael Schumacher both put in a charge.

The duo, though, were unable to match the pace of the MP4-25, finishing third and fourth respectively.

Unlike the first session, Practice Two began under gathering clouds with a few drops of rain starting to fall on the track, dropping the temperature of the asphalt to just 26'C. A few drivers ventured out for their installation laps on a track that was quickly becoming rather slippery. Most, though, opted to stay in the pits.

With the rain abating, Rubens Barrichello set the first time of the session, a 1:31.006, with his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg taking second place. Hulkenberg went on to overhaul Barrichello while Mark Webber took third place.
Nico Rosberg was the next in the P1 slot while Practice One pace-setter Robert Kubica moved into third place behind Barrichello and ahead of Hulkenberg.

With more drivers venturing out, the timesheets continued to change as Lewis Hamilton took third place before being dropped by Robert Kubica. Tonio Luizzi went seventh, Pedro de la Rosa fifth and Jenson Button tenth. Kamui Kobayashi, back on track after his earlier incidents, moved up to ninth place while Jarno Trulli went 12th.

Button was the next to lead the way, overhauling Rosberg as he clocked a 1:26.735. However, seconds later he was beaten by Hamilton as the 2008 Champ shaved 0.087s off his team-mate's time.

Vitaly Petrov, who was earlier caught speeding in the pit lane, run wide at Turn 13 while Adrian Sutil put his Force India up into third place before he was dropped by Petrov. Hamilton lowered the benchmark time to a 1:25.801.

Problems for Karun Chandhok meant he had to park his Hispania car on the side of the track, bringing out the yellow flags as the marshals push the car to safety.

With the rain coming down again, the drivers headed back into the pits, taking the break to evaluate the data gathered during the first half of the session.

They were soon back out again as the light rain continued to fall with Jaime Alguersuari, Rosberg, Petrov, Kubica and de la Rosa trying their hand at the slippery conditions. Alguersuari's lap time, though, was an indication of how much the rain altered the circuit as he was 25s off the pace.

Michael Schumacher, one of five drivers without a time to their name, made his way out, clocking a 1:39.944, 14s off Hamilton's P1 time, which was set on a dry track. The German only completed a handful of laps before heading back into the pits with graining tyres.

Sutil had a tricky moment over the exit of the Turn Four kerbs but manages to keep it together as the drivers continued to put in the laps but without any impact on the timesheets due to the now wet track.

Alguersuari joined the list of those running wide and onto the grass at Turn 15. A few minutes later Buemi followed his team-mate onto the grass.

With the track finally drying out, both Ferraris, Red Bulls and Schumacher ventured out. Webber improved his time but stayed P13, Schumacher moved up to 14th place, 11th and then lept to third before he was dropped by Webber, who moved up from 14th to third.

Schumacher, though, should be satisfied with his efforts - his position of P4 in the timesheets represents the first time that he has finished above his Mercedes team-mate in a timed session this season .

Times:

1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:25.801 13 laps
2. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.076 + 0.275 16 laps
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:26.248 + 0.447 22 laps
4. Schumacher Mercedes 1:26.511 + 0.710 16 laps
5. Petrov Renault 1:26.732 + 0.931 26 laps
6. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:26.832 + 1.031 29 laps
7. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:26.834 + 1.033 22 laps
8. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:26.835 + 1.034 17 laps
9. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:26.904 + 1.103 25 laps
10. Rosberg Mercedes 1:26.956 + 1.155 22 laps
11. Kubica Renault 1:27.108 + 1.307 28 laps
12. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:27.108 + 1.307 25 laps
13. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:27.455 + 1.654 23 laps
14. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:27.545 + 1.744 25 laps
15. Alonso Ferrari 1:29.025 + 3.224 20 laps
16. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:29.134 + 3.333 19 laps
17. Massa Ferrari 1:29.591 + 3.790 21 laps
18. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:29.860 + 4.059 15 laps
19. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:30.510 + 4.709 43 laps
20. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:30.695 + 4.894 17 laps
21. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:32.117 + 6.316 9 laps
22. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 2 laps
23. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1 laps
24. Senna HRT-Cosworth

Source: Planet-F1