28/08/2004
NEWS STORY
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Thankfully, following this morning's shenanigans, the rain, and fog, has cleared and conditions are much improved for this afternoon's qualifying sessions.
That said, temperatures have hardly risen, the ambient temperature is now 18 degrees, while the track temperature is 19 degrees. Although the rain has stopped, the track is still very wet in places, therefore drivers may use extreme wet-weather tyres should they wish.
Fist out for the initial pre-qualifying session, will be Michael Schumacher, who will be followed by Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello and then Alonso, Montoya and Button. Last out will be yesterday's pacesetter, Kimi Raikkonen.
At 13:00 precisely, Michael Schumacher leaves the Ferrari garage, on heavy wets. The German completes the first sector - which includes Eau rouge - in 31.2, and the second in 50.2. He crosses the line at 1:53.755, to set the benchmark.
Barrichello is slightly slower in the first sector, breaking the 'beam' at 31.4. He continues to lose ground in the second sector (51.3), finally crossing the line at 1:54.913, having gone quicker than his teammate in the final sector, which includes Blanchimont.
Fernando Alonso is next out, the Renaults not looking too impressive thus far this weekend. At the first split the Spaniard posts 32.0, he's already well down on Schumacher. At the second split it's 53.4 as he continues to lose a heap of time. The Michelins are clearly no match for the Bridgestones in these conditions, certainly as far as Fernando is concerned, consequently he crosses the line at 1:58.242, that's 4.487s off Schumacher's time.
Another Michelin runner on track, Juan Pablo Montoya in the WilliamsF1. At 31.4 he's slower than Schumacher in the first sector, but it's marginal. He loses a lot of time in the second sector, breaking the 'beam' at 52.8. At the line it's 1:56.842, more than 3s off the German's time. He goes third.
Next out is Jenson Button in the BAR. At the first split it's 31.5, followed by a 53.9s at the second. The Englishman is clearly struggling, finally crossing the line at 1:58.837, which puts him fifth, behind Alonso, 5s off the pace.
Teammate Takuma Sato is next out, what can he do? At the first split the Japanese driver posts 31.7, he's over half-a-second down on the German. He's slowest of all through the second sector, posting 54.1. At the line it's 1:58.929, he goes sixth, behind his teammate.
Antonio Pizzonia crashed out of this morning's mini-session, what can he do now? At the first split the Brazilian posts 31.8, slowest of the lot. Either conditions are worsening or he's opting on the side of caution. He loses more ground in the second sector, finally crossing the line at 1:59.100, which puts him seventh.
This should give us a rough idea regarding tyres, Giancarlo Fisichella is next out, the Sauber driver is using Bridgestones. At the first split it's 31.5, he's down on Schumacher, but it's marginal. At the second split it's 51.7, he made up a lot of ground. At the line the 2003 Brazil GP winner posts 1:56.068 to go third, giving Bridgestone a 1-2-3.
David Coulthard is next out. At the first split the Scot posts 31.3, which is mighty impressive considering that he's on Michelins. That said, it's in the last two sectors where they really seem to be losing time. At the second split it's 53.2, he's lost time but not that much. He crosses the line at 1:56.994, which puts him fifth, behind the Ferraris, Fisichella and Montoya.
Mark Webber is next out, he's had a fairly subdued weekend thus far. At the first split the Jaguar driver posts 31.8, other than Alonso he's the slowest so far. At the second split it's 54s, finally crossing the line at 1:59.437, to go tenth, of ten.
Olivier Panis takes to the track, can he produce something special? Er, no. At the first split it's 32.3, followed by a 55.2 at the second split. At the line it's 2:01.472, that's 7.7s off Schumacher's time.
Another Bridgestone runner now, Nick Heidfeld in the Jordan. At the first split the German posts 32.1, followed by a 54.6 at the second. At the line the former F3000 champion posts 2:00.166, which puts him eleventh, just ahead of Panis.
Christian Klien is on track in the second Jaguar. At the first split the Austrian posts 32.1, which puts him 0.3s down on his teammate. He continues to lose time in the second sector, breaking the 'beam' at 54.2. He finally crosses the line at 1:59.997, to take eleventh.
Gianmaria Bruni is next, he crashed heavily at Eau rouge this morning. At the first split the Italian posts 33s, followed by a 55.8 at the second split. At the line it's 2:03.226, which puts him fourteenth, 9.4s slower than Schumacher.
Teammate Baumgartner is next out, is there any chance that he might out-perform the Italian? At the first split he posts 32.5, he's around 0.5s up on his teammate. At the second split it's 55.2, which is almost the same as Panis' time. At the line it's 2:01.195, which puts him ahead of Panis and Bruni. Great stuff from the Hungarian!
The second of the Jordans now, as Giorgio Pantano takes to the track. He completes the first sector in 31.6, around half-a-second quicker than his teammate. He loses a little ground in the second sector, completing it in 54.2, but is still quicker than Heidfeld. At the line it's 1:59.442, which puts him eleventh, ahead of Klien and Heidfeld.
Jarno Trulli has been having a poor weekend, can he produce something now, even though he's on Michelins? Possibly. At the first split it's 31.6, which puts him 0.4s quicker than his teammate. He loses a whole load of time in the second sector though, completing it in 54.1. At the line it's 1:58.606, which puts him seventh, right behind his Spanish teammate.
Ricardo Zonta is next out in the BAR, remember his massive crash here in 1999? He completes the first sector in 31.9, around 0.4s faster than his teammate. It all goes wrong for the Brazilian as he spins off into the gravel, however he manages to get his car back on track. He drives straight back to the pits having failed to post a time.
Felipe Massa completes the first sector in 31.6, he's only marginally off his teammate Fisichella's pace. He makes up further time in the second sector, completing it in 51.4. At the line it's 1:56.057, which puts him ahead of Giancarlo.
Last out is McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, his benchmark, other than Schumacher, is teammate David Coulthard. He completes the first sector in 33.6, the slowest so far, however he makes up a heap of time in the second sector, crossing the 'beam' at 53.5. He crosses the line at 1:55.371, which puts him third, albeit 1.6s off Schumacher's pace.
As we look ahead to the main session, what's interesting is that although conditions seemed to improve as the session went on, the times, for the most part, got slower and slower.
To sum up, Schumacher was quickest - and will therefore be last out in the next session - ahead of Barrichello, Raikkonen, Massa, Fisichella, Montoya, Coulthard, Alonso, Trulli and Button.
Ricardo Zonta is first out, however with only minutes to go before the lights go green, the Toyota mechanics are still working on his car following his off at Pouhon.
Amazingly, the boys do their job, and Zonta is back on track to get the main session underway. The Brazilian completes the first sector in 32.733, followed by a 1:29.827 at the second. At the line it's 2:03.895, an exceedingly slow benchmark, but provisional pole nonetheless.
Gianmaria Bruni is next out. The Italian completes the first sector in 32.833, he's 0.1s down on the Toyota. He's working hard at the wheel, at the second split its 1:28.507, he's 1.32s up on Zonta. At the line it's 2:02.651, which is 1.244s faster than the Toyota driver. A great lap from Gianmaria.
Next out is Olivier Panis, can he uphold Toyota's honour? At the first split it's 31.179, he's already ahead of the Minardi. At the second split the Frenchman posts 1:26.204, he's 2.3s up on Bruni. Provisional pole for the veteran who crosses the line at 1:59.552.
At this point it starts to rain once again.
Zsolt Baumgartner is next out. At the first split the Hungarian posts 32.533, he's already 0.65s down on Panis. The car is sliding all over the place, but he pushes on. At the second split he posts 1:29.502, he's now 3.2s down on the benchmark time. At the line it's 2:03.303, which puts him third, behind Panis and Bruni.
Last out before the break is Nick Heidfeld in the Jordan. At the first split it's 35.652, he's 0.77s down on Panis. At the second split the German posts 1:28.198, he's now almost 2s down on the Frenchman. Conditions are clearly worsening as he crosses the line at 2:02.645 to go second. A brave lap under the circumstances.
At the first break, it's Panis ahead of Heidfeld, Bruni, Baumgartner and Zonta.
Christian Klien is next out ass the rain continues to fall. At the first split the Austrian posts 32.545, he's 0.666s down on Panis. At the second split the Jaguar driver posts 1:27.422, he's now 1.2s adrift of the pole time. At the line it's 2:01.246, which puts him second, an excellent lap.
Giorgio Pantano was outstanding in the first session, what can he do now? At the first split it's 32.486, he's 0.6s off the pace. At the second split it's 1:29.013, he's lost a lot of time. At the line it's 2:03.833, which puts him sixth, 1.2s slower than his teammate.
Mark Webber is on track in the second of the Jaguars. He completes the first sector in 31.832, he's 0.047s up on Panis. At the second split the Australian posts 1:25.616, which puts him 0.588s up on the benchmark time. Provisional pole for Mark as he crosses the line at 1:58.729, an outstanding lap.
Antonio Pizzonia is on track in the WilliamsF1. At the first split the Brazilian posts 31.706, he's 0.126s up on Webber. At the second split it's 1:28.146, he's lost a whole load of time. At the line it's 2:01.447, which puts him fourth. A bit of a wild lap, which started to go wrong right at the start.
Takuma Sato is keen to maker an impression. No hint of a lift-off through Eau rouge, he completes the sector in 31.574, around 0.25s quicker than Webber. At the second split it's 1:27.710, as he loses almost 2s. At the line it's 2:01.813, which puts him fifth, a disappointing end after such a brilliant start.
At the second break it's Webber ahead of Panis, Klien, Pizzonia, Sato, Heidfeld, Bruni, Baumgartner, Pantano and Zonta.
Jenson Button is the next driver to go out. At the first split the Englishman posts 31.332, he's 0.500s exactly up on Webber. At the second split it's 1:27.229 as he loses 1.6s to the Australian. At the line it's 2:00.237, which puts him third.
Jarno Trulli takes a massive gamble, the Italian is going out on intermediates. At the first split the Renault driver posts 31.523, he's 0.5s up on Webber. At the second split it's 1:23.992, he's 1.623s up on the Jaguar driver. At the line the Monaco winner posts 1:56.232, provisional pole. A brave decision and a great lap.
Teammate Fernando Alonso is next out, and he too is running intermediates. At the first split it's 31.091, he's 0.162s up on his teammate. At the second split the Spaniard posts 1:24.519, he's now 0.527s down on Jarno. At the line it's 1:56.686, which puts him second. Provisionally a blue and yellow front row.
David Coulthard is next out, the Scot getting it all wrong at La Source. At the first split it's 21.217, he's 0.036s up on Trulli. This is his first experience of these intermediates. At the second split it's 1;25.675, like Alonso he's lost a load of time in that section. At the line it's 1:57.990, which gives him third, with six cars still to run.
Juan Pablo Montoya is next out, at which point it starts to rain yet again. At the first split it's 31.521, he's 0.268s down on Trulli. At the second split it's 1:27.134, he's lost 3.1s. At the line it's 1:59.681, which puts him sixth. Quite simply the cards didn't fall well for the Colombian.
At the final break it's Trulli ahead of Alonso, who is ahead of Coulthard, Webber, Panis, Montoya, Button, Klien, Pizzonia and Sato.
Next out is Giancarlo Fisichella who is running full wets. At the first split the Italian posts 31.708, he's 0.455s down on the benchmark time. At the second split it's 1:24.718, he's now 0.726s down on Trulli. At the line it's 1:58.040, which puts him fourth.
Teammate Felipe Massa is next out. At the first split the Brazilian posts 31.818, he too is 0.5s down on the Renault. At the second split it's 1:25.372, he's now 1.3s off the pace. At the line it's 1:59.008, which puts him sixth, much to the relief of Coulthard.
The rain is falling harder as Kimi Raikkonen prepares for his assault on pole position. The timing system isn't recognising the McLaren, consequently nobody knows what's happening. He gets it all wrong at Bus Stop, losing valuable time. He goes eighth with a 1:59.635.
Rubens Barrichello is next. At the first split the Brazilian posts 31.280, he's only 0.027s off Trulli's pace. The rain is falling harder, but still Rubens forces the pace. At the second split it's 1:23.613, he's 0.379s up on Trulli. Like Raikkonen, he gets it all wrong at Bus Stop, he crosses the line at 1:58.175, which puts him fifth, a silly mistake.
Last out is Michael Schumacher, the German completing the first sector in 31.249, 0.004s up on Trulli. At the second split the Ferrari star posts 1:23.645, he's 0.347s up on Trulli. He loses time in the final sector, possibly erring on the side of caution, crossing the line at 1:56.304 to take second.
Congratulations to Jarno for a great lap at just the right time. It's still unclear why Renault has decided to let him go, that's the French outfit's choice. However, ever since Magny-Cours there has appeared to be 'an atmosphere' within the team, certainly as far as the Italian is concerned. In recent weeks Jarno has not seemed his usual self, clearly the situation has been getting to him. Today, celebrating his second F1 pole position, the smile is back, let's hope it stays there.
Once again, Spa Francorchamps and its ludicrous changeable weather serves up a bundle of thrills. Thanks to the conditions we have a grid that is some ways could have been decided by ballot.
Trulli starts from pole, ahead of Michael Schumacher, but behind we have Alonso, Coulthard and Fisichella. Barrichello starts from sixth, but hot on his heels are Webber, Massa and Panis.
The forecasters are saying that tomorrow's race will be dry, but no matter, whatever the weather conditions we are guaranteed a thrilling start. The Renaults are legendary for their quick getaways, but Michael is no slouch and nor is Coulthard. Add Massa, Fisichella and Raikkonen to the mix and you have a recipe for magic or mayhem. Let's not forget 1998.
Let's forget the World Championship, that's already over and it's stupid to pretend otherwise. Instead lets be glad that F1 is back at Spa, a track that is (relatively) un-tainted by the Hermann Tilkes of this world, and which is still more than capable of producing surprises.
Formula One has today demonstrated what it can, and should, be about, unpredictability, and men who are just a little bit special.
Despite this morning's shenanigans, we'd had a great qualifying session, let's all hope that tomorrow's race can live up to the promise.