Rookie driver Marcel Fässler was in action this morning at a wet Eastern Creek circuit setting a promising fourth fastest time (1.37.518 ) after completing 21 laps over the two sessions.

Sebastien Buemi completed 24 laps and clocked a 6th fastest time in the  official practice session when conditions were drier, his best lap a 1.19.972.

Marcel Fässler commented, "It was quite a surprise to work in such wet conditions. But I am pleased with my times. This track is a really fun challenge for a driver whether wet or dry. You get going already at turn 1 which is quite thrilling and the car reacted well even if we had a bit of a problem with the grip because of the wet lines on the circuit. To run two 25’ sessions is not a long time  out. On one hand, I used part of the session to learn the track, but I have also made a number of notes on the driving conditions and I think it will be very helpful to discuss these with Sebastien for the rest of the weekend.”

Sebastien Buemi: “The work was really useful this afternoon. The track was a bit better as it dried out, but it was still quite damp and we did not push as hard as we could have. We need to be ready with a good strategy for tomorrow’s qualifying session.”

Max Welti, Team Principal added: “The weather conditions were surprisingly poor and that reflected of course on everyone’s performance which are not significant as the track was quicker towards the end of the day as it got dry. As for our team we kept the wet tyres on to the end of the sessions. Marcel Fässler has worked very regularly and improved at every outing and now Sebastien Buemi, has good information heading into qualifying conditions.”

A1 Switzerland finished the inaugural A1 Grand Prix series season as runners-up. After 11 events and 22 races around the world, A1 Team Switzerland finished second place in the overall standings with 121 points behind champion A1 Team France, and with a 24 point advantage over third place A1 Team Great Britain.