It was "baptism by fire" for rookies Lotus, Virgin Racing and Hispania Racing as Formula One's new teams all took part in Bahrain's opening practice session Friday, defying previous expectations.
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Virgin's Timo Glock was fastest of the newcomers, clocking 2 minutes, 03.680 seconds -- seven seconds behind pace setter Adrian Sutil of Force India.
Bruno Senna experienced some clutch problems but eventually ran three installation laps for HRT, which missed all of preseason testing. Teammate Karun Chandhok was sidelined by a hydraulics problem, but was expected to run in the afternoon session.
"We made history for the team today," Senna, the nephew of three-time champion Ayrton Senna, said. "The car did not fail so everyone is very happy and proud."
Lotus, which returns to F1 with Malaysian backing after a 16-year absence, was one of the most productive teams of the session with Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli combining for 36 laps to finish slightly behind Glock.
"Bahrain is a hard race to start. It's very hot, dry and there is sand -- so it's a baptism of fire for us," Lotus owner Tony Fernandes said. "But hey, you got to start somewhere so let's hope that we finish the race. Everything above that will be a bonus, whether we come last, second last or third last."
Fernandes said the proudest thing is the Malaysian team is on the grid while USF1 wasn't, even though the American team started its project three months earlier. USF1 will not take part this year, but has indicated an interest in the 2011 season.
HRT was always going to be a last-minute arrival at Bahrain and the fact that there were no glaring technical faults and the car was being prepped for racing was an achievement, especially as mechanics and team principal Colin Kolles worked through the night.
They may even prove Adrian Campos wrong, as the former team owner said he would have skipped the season-opening race.
"They'll probably look ridiculous but they shouldn't be seen that way but as a team with a car on the track," Campos told Spanish radio station Onda Cero.
Campos sold his stake in the team to Spanish businessman Jose Ramon Carabante so the team would not fall by the wayside like USF1.
"Sometimes you have to take decisions so that the project can move forward," Campos said. "This has been a nightmare for me."
Like Senna, rookie driver Luca Di Grassi did not manage a time as he ran only two incomplete laps for Virgin.