25/09/2004
NEWS STORY
Ahead of today's second free practice session, the air temperature has risen to 27 degrees C, while the track temperature is also 27 degrees.
Mark Webber is clearly as keen as mustard, he's back on track the moment the pitlane lights turn green, closely followed by Olivier Panis. Ricardo Zonta is also eager to get to work.
At the end of his second lap, Webber dives into the pits, while teammate Klien comes out to play.
Panis sets the benchmark, the Frenchman crossing the line at 1:35.921. Moments later, his Brazilian teammate goes quicker, raising the bar to 1:35.058.
Both McLarens are on track, as are the Renaults and WilliamsF1s. Alonso goes second with a 1:35.312, while Raikkonen can only manage 1:37.803. Coulthard, on the other hand, goes third with a 1:35.885.
Moments later, the Scot is bounced down to fourth by Sato, as the Schumachers leave their respective garages at the same time.
Another impressive lap from Villeneuve, the Canadian goes fourth with a 1:35.522. Former teammate Button slips into fifth, ahead of Coulthard.
Michael goes fourteenth with a 1:40.731, as Ralf goes quickest with a 1:34.769.
Fifteen minutes into the session, and with Massa, Bruni and Barrichello yet to post a time, it's Ralf quickest, ahead of Zonta, Alonso, Sato and Villeneuve.
Moments later however, Michael posts 1:34.692, to knock his brother off the top-spot.
Massa goes twelfth with a 1:37.014, as Ricardo Zonta goes quickest with a very, very impressive 1:34.518. The former GT Champion must think it's Friday.
The top 6, Zonta, Michael, Ralf, Alonso, Sato and Villeneuve, are covered by 1.004s. Meanwhile, Barrichello finally posts a time, however it's only good enough for seventeenth. Next time around, the Brazilian posts a far more respectable 1:34.699, to go third.
Juan Pablo Montoya, goes quickest in the first sector, but loses ground in the second. However, despite not being quickest in the final sector, the WilliamsF1 star still manages to go to the to of the timesheets with a 1:34.458.
With twenty minutes remaining, Kimi Raikkonen goes quickest, the Finn posting 1:34.210 as he crosses the line.
Meanwhile, Michael Schumacher goes quickest in the first sector, are we about to see the first sub 1:33 lap of the day? He's quickest again in the second sector, crossing the line at an amazing 1:33.448, that's the second quickest lap of the weekend.
Schumacher's teammate, Rubens Barrichello, is the second driver today to break the 1:33 barrier, giving the Italian team 1-2, 0.762s clear of third-placed Kimi Raikkonen.
As Coulthard consolidates eighth, Jenson button goes fourth, the Englishman posting 1:34.233.
With ten minutes remaining, and ahead of the final onslaught, it's Michael, ahead of Barrichello, Raikkonen, Button, Fisichella, Montoya, Zonta, Coulthard, Ralf and Massa. The top six are covered by 1.010s.
At the 'wrong' end of the timesheets, Baumgartner is quicker than Bruni yet again, while Glock is only 0.2s behind his Jordan teammate.
Michael Schumacher goes quickest in the second sector, but fails to improve, while Fernando Alonso goes eighth with a 1:34.627.
Rubens goes quickest in the first sector, could we see a sub 1:32s lap? The answer is no, as the Brazilian loses time in the two remaining sectors.
Kimi Raikkonen closes to within 0.594s of Schumacher, the McLaren star posting 1:34.042.
Heidfeld goes sixth! Yes Jordan's Nick Heidfeld goes sixth, lapping the Shanghai track in 1:34.404. Now where on earth did he produce that from? Elsewhere, Massa improves to tenth.
With seconds of this final free practice session remaining, Sato and Webber both attempt to improve, but to no avail.
The session ends with Schumacher and Barrichello topping the timesheets, the only drivers to break the 1:33s barrier. Kimi Raikkonen is third, ahead of Button, Fisichella, Heidfeld, Montoya, Coulthard, Zonta and Massa.
Alonso is eleventh, ahead of Ralf, Sato, Panis, Villeneuve, Webber, Klien, Bruni, Glock and Baumgartner.