10/10/2004
NEWS STORY
Welcome to what must surely be one of the busiest days in Formula One history. A day that may decide not only some of the final standings in both championships, but which could also have an impact on the way Grands Prix weekends are run from now on.
For some time, certain people within the sport have been calling for tow-day race weekends - now, thanks to Mother nature - we will get to see whether the concept works, as will have qualifying and the race on the same day.
First off, we have pre-qualifying, which, as ever, will see the cars go out in the order in which they finished the previous Grand Prix, in this case China. Consequently, Rubens Barrichello is first out, followed by Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen.
As the Brazilian prepares to go out for his warm-up lap, the air temperature is 24 degrees C, while the track temperature is 23 degrees. And it's dry! At least it's not raining, though the track is still a little damp in patches following overnight rain.
That said, the drivers have had no dry running this weekend, and therefore have had to set up the cars and make the correct tyre compound choice based on guess work and simulations. Consequently, we have an interesting day in prospect.
At 09:00 precisely, Barrichello heads out of his garage and begins his warm-up lap, he's running on intermediates. At the first split the Brazilian posts 34.9s, followed by a 45.2 at the second. He crosses the line at 1:41.001, 10s off last year's pole time.
Jenson Button is next out, the BAR driver registers 35.0 at the first split. At the second split he posts 45.7, going on to complete the lap in 1:41.423, having gone quickest in the final sector.
Kimi Raikkonen is third out, the Finn completing the first sector in 35.3, he's already almost half-a-second down on Barrichello. He makes up ground in the second sector, posting 45.4, eventually crossing the line at 1:41.517, to go third.
Fernando Alonso is next out, in the Renault. At the first split the Spaniard posts 35.5, he too is already well down on the Ferrari, which of course is on Bridgestones, which favour these conditions. At the second split the Michelin-shod runner posts 45.8, but goes quickest in the final sector to cross the line at 1:42.056, which puts him fourth.
Juan Pablo Montoya is next out in the WilliamsF1. At the first split the Colombian posts 35.7, followed by a 47.1 at the second - he's lost a whole load of time. At the line it's 1:44.370, he's over 3s off the pace.
Local hero Takuma Sato is next out, the crowd erupts. Rising to the occasion, the Japanese youngster is quickest in the first sector, posting a stunning 34.4s. He loses a little ground in the second sector - posting 45.3 - but goes quickest again in the final sector, crossing the line at 1:40.135, that's 0.866 quicker than Barrichello. The partisan crowd goes wild.
Giancarlo Fisichella is next out, like Barrichello, he's on Bridgestones. At the first split it's 34.8, he's down on Sato but up on Barrichello. He goes quickest in the second sector, posting 44.4, where Sato lost time. At the line it's 1:40.151, he goes second, just 0.016s down on the BAR driver.
Teammate Felipe Massa is next out, what can he do? At 35.0s he only marginally off the pace in the first sector. At the second split it's 45.3, he's still in touch. At the line it's 1:41.707, he goes sixth, not too bad for a guy who had so little track time on Friday, having spun off in both sessions.
David Coulthard is next out, the Scot still seeking a drive for next season. At the first split the McLaren driver posts 35.0s, followed by a 45.4 at the second. At the line it's 1:41.126, which puts him fourth, ahead of Button and Raikkonen.
Mark Webber is next, his penultimate outing for Jaguar, indeed the penultimate race weekend for the Milton Keynes outfit. At the first split it's 33.9s, he's quickest, by half-a-second! That said, he loses ground in the second sector, posting 44.7, but still crosses the line at 1:39.170, to go quickest by 0.965s. Great stuff from the Australian.
Jacques Villeneuve is next out, his second race for Renault. At the first split it's 35.s, he's about level with teammate Alonso. At the second split it's 45.4, he makes up a little ground. At the line it's 1:41.857, which puts him ninth, just 0.2s ahead of his Renault teammate.
Michael Schumacher is next out, the German keep to make amends for his Chinese debacle. He's quickest in the first sector, posting 33.4, that's half-a-second up on Webber. He's quickest again the second sector, taking a further 0.3s out of the Australian's time. At the line it's 1:38.397, he goes quickest by 0.773. Simply amazing.
Fellow German Nick Heidfeld is next out. At the first split the Jordan driver posts 35.1, which puts him level with the McLarens. He loses a lot of time in the second sector, posting 45.8, finally crossing the line at 1:42.434 to go twelfth, ahead of Montoya.
Olivier Panis is next out, the Frenchman making his final Grand Prix appearance today. At the first split he posts 34.4, which puts him about fourth in the times. At the second split it's 44.7, he's still in touch with the pace-setters. At the line it's 1:40.029, which puts him third. A great performance from Olivier, especially as it's Toyota's home race.
Next out is Timo Glock in the second Jordan. At the first split the German posts 35.5, he's around 0.4s down on his teammate. He loses more time in the second sector (45.9s), going on to cross the line at 1:43.682, which puts him fourteenth, of fifteen.
Zsolt Baumgartner goes out in the Minardi. At 36.5 he slowest of the lot, even slower than Montoya. Sadly, that's as far as he gets, the Hungarian spinning off into the gravel in the second sector.
Teammate Gianmaria Bruni goes out, the Italian one of four non-finishers in China. At the first split the Minardi driver posts 36.8, he slower than Baumgartner. In the second sector he posts 46.6, going on to cross the line at 1:45.415, that's seven seconds off the pace.
Ralf Schumacher is next out. At the first split the German posts 33.9, which puts him second quickest. At the second split it's 43.9, he goes quickest by half-a-second. At the line the WilliamsF1 driver posts 1:38.864, which puts him second, right behind his brother, 0.467s off the pace.
Christian Klien is next out. At the first split the Austrian posts 35.4, which is already considerably off the pace. He makes up ground in the second sector, posting 45.2, going on to cross the line at 1:42.054. The Jaguar driver goes thirteenth, splitting the two Renaults.
Last out is Toyota's new boy, Jarno Trulli. At the first split the Italian goes quickest, posting a mighty impressive 33.3. He's quickest again the second sector (43.7), finally going crossing the line at 1:37.716. The former Renault driver goes quickest, 0.681s quicker than Michael Schumacher, and 4s ahead of the faster of the two Renaults.
Therefore, at the end of pre-qualifying, the order is: Trulli, ahead of Michael, Ralf, Webber, Panis, Sato, Fisichella, Barrichello, Coulthard, Button, Raikkonen, Massa, Villeneuve, Klien, Alonso, Heidfeld, Glock, Montoya, Bruni and Baumgartner.
Air temperature is now 25 degrees C, while the track temperature is 24 degrees.
Baumgartner is due to be first out, the Hungarian having spun off in pre-qualifying. However, he remains in his garage as the Minardi crew works on his car.
Therefore, teammate Gianmaria Bruni is first out. The Italian is running on intermediates, although it is not raining, and hasn't rained this morning, the track is still damp in patches. At the first split the Minardi driver posts 37.6, followed by a 47.9 at the second. He crosses the line at 1:48.069, considerably slower than his pre-qualifying time.
Juan Pablo Montoya is next out in the williamsF1, he's running on dry tyres.. At the first split he posts 33.8s, however he has a massive wobble shortly afterwards. That was big moment. At the second split it's 42.5, the FW26 kicking up a whole load of spray. He crosses the line at 1:37.653, provisional pole, and quickest lap so far today. Along the pitlane, drivers consider whether to follow Montoya's example and opt for dry tyres.
Timo Glock is next out in the Jordan. At the first split the German posts 35.1, going a little wide at Degner. At the second split it's 46.4, he's already well down on Montoya. At the line it's 1:45.533, 5.8s off Montoya's time.
Teammate Nick Heidfeld is next out. At the first split the German posts 35.0, followed by a 45.0 at the second. He's on intermediates and attempts to stay on the wet part of the track. At the line it's 1:41.923, he goes second.
Fernando Alonso is on track in the Renault. At the first split the Spaniard goes quickest, posting 33.6s. At the second split it's 42.1, he's quickest again. At the line it's 1:36.663, provisional pole for Fernando, 0.990s quicker than Montoya.
Christian Klien is next up. At the first split the young Austrian posts 34.2, which puts him third. At the second split the Jaguar driver posts 42.8s, followed by a 1:38.285, which puts him third.
Jacques Villeneuve is next out, the Canadian keen to help Renault overhaul BAR. The 1997 world champion didn't race here in 2003. He's quickest in the first sector, posting a 32.8s. He loses ground in the second sector, posting 42.6. He locks up at the chicane and has a major moment, but still manages to go quickest with 1:36.274. A great lap.
Felipe Massa is next out, in the Sauber. At the first split the Brazilian posts 34.3, however he gets it all wrong at Spoon, going very, very wide and running through the gravel. He aborts the lap.
Kimi Raikkonen takers to the track in the McLaren. At the first split the Finn posts 33.5, he's already off the pace. He looks ragged as he completes the second sector in 42.3, somehow he's made up some time. At the line it's 1:36.820, he goes third behind the two Renaults.
Next up is Jenson Button in the BAR. At the first split the Englishman posts 32.6, he's quickest by 0.2s. It's a neat lap, thus far, and at the second split Button posts 41.7, over a second quicker than Villeneuve. At the line it's 1:35.157, over a second quicker than the Canadian. A very impressive lap, quickest in all three sectors.
David Coulthard is next out. At the first split the Scot posts 33.1, which puts him in serious contention with the pace-setters. He loses ground in the second sector, which he completes in 42.5s. At the line it's 1:36.156, as he goes quickest in the final sector. Second spot for the Scot.
Rubens Barrichello takes to the track in the Ferrari, the Brazilian riding on the crest of a wave following back-to-back wins in Italy and China. At the first split it's 32.9, he's off the pace, but it's marginal. At the second split it's 42.1, however he gets it all wrong at the chicane losing a mass of time. At the line it's 1:38.637, which puts him eighth.
Giancarlo Fisichella is next out. At the first split the Italian posts 32.8, he's still very much in touch with the pace-setters. At the second split it's 42.2, he's still in touch. At the line it's 1:36.136, which puts him second. A very impressive lap for the Sauber driver.
The crowd erupts as Takuma Sato takes to the track. He goes quickest in the first sector, posting 32.1, almost half-a-second quicker than his teammate. He posts 42.0s at the second split but then gets it wrong at the entry to the chicane. Nonetheless, he's quickest at the line, crossing it at 1:34.897, that's 0.260s quicker than Button.
At the first sector, Olivier Panis posts 32.3, which is very, very close to the benchmark. He loses a lot of ground in the second sector, completing it in 42.8s. At the line it's 1:36.420, which puts him sixth.
Mark Webber is next out, in the Jaguar. At the first split the Australian posts 32.2, which is mighty impressive. At the second split, despite a lock-up at Spoon, he posts 42.0s. At the line it's an amazing 1:34.571, he goes quickest by 0.326. A tremendous effort by the WilliamsF1-bound driver.
Ralf Schumacher is on track in the WilliamsF1. The German goes quickest in the first sector, posting 31.8. At the second split it's 41.5, he's still quickest. At the line it's 1:34.032 - 0.539s quicker than Webber.
Brother Michael is next out. At the first split the Ferrari star posts 31.6, he's already 0.2s up on Ralf. At the second split it's 41.7, he's lost a little time. At the line the seven-time world champion posts 1:33.542, having gone quickest in the final sector. Provisional pole for the German, with just Jarno Trulli to run.
Can the Toyota new boy take pole at his team's home race? At the first split the Italian posts 32.5, it's not looking too good. He loses further ground in the second sector, going on to cross the line at 1:35.213, which puts him sixth.
Therefore, Michael Schumacher starts from pole for the eighth time this year. Second quickest is brother Ralf, ahead of Webber, Sato, Button, Trulli, Fisichella, Coulthard, Villeneuve and Panis.
Alonso is eleventh ahead of Raikkonen. Montoya, Klien, Barrichello, Heidfeld, Glock, Bruni, Baumgartner and Massa.
As ever the big question mark is strategy. We are expecting some rain before - and even during - the race. The cars now go to parc fermé for the next couple of hours, and the smart money says that several teams will have opted for very early pit-stops.
That said, we won't know for sure until it all gets underway in a couple of hours time.