18/03/2005
NEWS STORY
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With the first session out of the way, the track will be a lot less 'green' in the second. Furthermore, with the data acquired from the first session, we should see a lot more activity over the next sixty minutes.
As the cars line up at the end of the pitlane, the air temperature is 37 degrees C, while the track temperature is a staggering 56 degrees C. It's hot and sunny!
When the lights go green, Narain Karthikeyan is first out, closely followed by his Jordan buddies Robert Doornbos and Tiago Monteiro. Pedro de la Rosa is also keen to get to work as are Zonta, Albers, Friesacher and Liuzzi. The usual suspects.
The Toyota test driver posts a 1:36.915, as Raikkonen and Massa take to the track. With less than 5 minutes of the session gone, we already have times from 7 drivers.
As Klien goes second quickest (1:37.783), Raikkonen goes quickest in the first sector, however he loses the car in the double right-hander in sector two, and is stuck in the gravel. His day's work at an end.
Meanwhile, Felipe Massa goes quickest with a 1:36.700, 0.215s quicker than Zonta. Coulthard goes fifth, narrowly edging out Montoya who goes sixth.
Jenson Button goes quickest in the first sector, but loses ground in the second. As Montoya improves to fourth (1:37.907), the Englishman goes quickest again in the final sector, crossing the line at 1:35.992, to go top the timesheets.
Button, Massa, Trulli, Zonta, Klien and Montoya, that's the order after twelve minutes.
A 1:37.372 sees Michael go sixth, ahead of Montoya and de la Rosa, as Barrichello, Sato and Ralf take to the track.
The Japanese driver posts 1:37.451, to go seventh, as Barrichello spins off, the Ferrari becoming embedded in the 'kitty litter'. One McLaren and one Ferrari out.
Jarno Trulli, who didn't post a time in the first session, goes quickest in the second sector, finally crossing the line at 1:36.841, he stays third.
de la Rosa leapfrogs his teammate Montoya as Raikkonen, who failed to post a time, make his way back to the McLaren garage, where a sympathetic Ron Dennis will be waiting for him.
As Jacques Villeneuve takes to the track, teammate Felipe Massa goes quickest in the first sector. The Brazilian loses a little pace in the second, but finally crosses the line at 1:35.608, to go quickest.
Elsewhere, Robert Doornbos posts 1:39.910, to go twelfth, but quickest of the three Jordan drivers. Jacques Villeneuve posts 1:39.406, which puts him eleventh, 3.798s off his teammate's pace.
Next time around the Canadian improves (1:38.986), but remains eleventh, while David Coulthard goes third with a 1:36.575.
Twenty-five minutes gone, and no times yet from Ralf or the WilliamsF1 and Renault drivers.
DC goes quickest in the second sector, but loses a heap of time in the second, and consequently fails to improve.
Nick Heidfeld finally posts a time, the German going eleventh with a 1:38.247. Meanwhile, Ralf Schumacher posts 1:39.173 to go fourteenth.
Fisichella goes seventh (1:37.292) as Webber and Alonso look set to finally post a time and take their places on the timesheets.
Villeneuve continues to improve (1:38.835) but remains over 3s off his teammate's pace.
Liuzzi spins off and he too is stuck in the gravel. What is it with this guy, in Melbourne and now here in Malaysia, he sets the pace in the first session then spins off in the second.
Alonso's first lap is hardly inspiring, the Spaniard posts 1:42.076. Next time around however, he goes quickest in the second sector, finally crossing the line at 1:36.752 to go fourth.
With 24 minutes remaining, Massa is still topping the timesheets, from Button, Coulthard, Alonso, Trulli, Zonta, Klien, Fisichella, de la Rosa and Michael. Villeneuve improves (1:38.589) but is back down in fifteenth, albeit just behind Heidfeld and Ralf. Mark Webber is still in the WilliamsF1 garage, the Australian yet to post a time.
Takuma Sato goes eighth with a 1:37.044, over a second off his teammate's pace. Moments later the Japanese driver spins off, but is able to continue.
Jenson Button is back on track, as are Zonta and Coulthard. With fifteen minutes remaining we can expect a frenzy of activity.
Somehow, Barrichello has extricated himself from the gravel - some of Michael's marshal friends perhaps? - and is now back on track aiming to post a time.
Elsewhere, Juan Pablo Montoya goes second with a 1:35.620.
Rubens, whose day appeared to be at an end, goes third with a 1:35.949, only to be instantly demoted by Melbourne winner Giancarlo Fisichella, who goes third.
Ralf Schumacher goes third with a 1:35.838, leaving his brother languishing in fifteenth.
Fernando Alonso improves but remains seventh, behind Massa, Montoya, Ralf, Fisichella, Barrichello and Button.
Still no sign of Webber, as Heidfeld improves (1:37.067) but remains fourteenth. The Australian had high hopes for this weekend, however this lack of track-time isn't helping his cause.
Five minutes remaining and there are 16 cars on track.
Klien spins but is able to continue, as Raikkonen comes out to post a time. The Finn, like Barrichello, has extricated himself from the gravel.
Michael Schumacher is back on track, the German improving (1:37.270) but remaining fifteenth. Meanwhile, Ricardo Zonta, pace-setter in the first session, goes quickest in sector two. The Brazilian crosses the line at 1:35.677 to go third, as Raikkonen goes fourth with a 1:35.799.
Klien has another spin, but this time he's not quite so lucky. He tries to continue but is unable to, consequently he is pushed off by the marshals.
There are no further improvements, and therefore Massa is quickest ahead of Montoya, Zonta, Raikkonen, Ralf, Fisichella, Barrichello, Button, Alonso and Coulthard.
The big surprises today, certainly in this second session, have to be the lack of pace of the WilliamsF1s - we didn't even see a time from Webber - and Michael Schumacher's failure to end the day in the top ten, he finished sixteenth 1.6s off the pace.
Nonetheless, the top ten are covered by less than a second, with the McLarens looking particularly strong, even though Raikkonen needed to use his 'get out of jail' card.