The Williams set the pace

The torrential rains of the day before are forgotten (for the moment) and the first free practice session takes place on a completely dry track.

As is often the case, the first session begins with several rounds of setup. You have to wait 23 minutes to see the first significant time displayed. 1?42??194 to be credited to the Ferrari by Kimi Räikkönen. It is then the turn of Kazuki Nakajima to get back into action. The Japanese improves one after the other and thus occupies first place. Räikkönen and Nakajima, the leaders of this start of the session, exchange the leading position. The Ferrari driver has the last word: 1:37:628.

The session gets lively after the first half hour. Nico Rosberg, Felipe Massa, Lewis Hamilton, Heikki Kovalainen and Rubens Barrichello enter the track. Massa improves the reference time to 1:37:343. He only held first position for a few moments since Nico Rosberg took the lead in 1:37:265.

Barrichello improved, then Rosberg regained his position in 1:36:879, before returning to the pits. The traffic is getting denser on the track, so after 50 minutes of session, Nico Rosberg is in the lead ahead of Timo Glock, Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber, Jarno Trullo and Rubens Barrichello. At this moment, Fernando Alonso setting off for his first lap of the day.

Once the session time was reached, the name of the fastest man changed when Jenson Button took the lead in 1:36??676. In the process, Lewis Hamilton moved up to second place, before Felipe Massa stepped between the two men.

Approaching the last quarter of an hour, Jenson Button consolidates his first position in 1. Note that the team's mechanics McLaren Mercedes are busy on the car of Kovalainen, who hardly rode during this session. It's not much better for Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard seems to be experiencing some difficulties. Big alert also for Kimi Räikkonen, with smoke escaping from his cockpit as the Finn returns to his stand. He stops and gets out of his Ferrari.

The last minutes are lively. While Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet Jr left the track, Nico Rosberg (1:36:260) and his teammate Kazuki Nakajima took the lead over the Brawns of Button and Barrichello. Following on from the first free practice sessions in Melbourne, the Williams therefore occupy the first two positions.