19/03/2005
NEWS STORY
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As Anthony Davidson waits at the pitlane exit, the air temperature is 36 degrees C, and the track temperature is 51 degrees. The Englishman is replacing BAR teammate Takuma Sato who is suffering from a viral infection.
Before the free practice sessions this morning, Anthony's experience of this circuit was limited to free testing in 2003 and Friday free practice in 2004.
At the first split the Englishman posts 24.4, followed by a 29.2 at the second. He crosses the line at 34.866 to set the benchmark.
Christijan Albers is next out, at the first split the Dutchman is already 0.9s down on the BAR driver. He makes a mistake in the second sector and is consequently already 3.2s down. At the line the Minardi driver posts 1:40.432.
Nick Heidfeld's Australian GP ended in a tangle with Michael Schumacher. By the second split the WilliamsF1 driver is 0.7s up on Davidson, going on to cross the line at 1:33.464 to take provisional pole.
Michael Schumacher pushes hard, too hard, and by the second split he's down on his countryman. The German continues to lose ground in the final sector and consequently crosses the line at 1:34.072, that's 0.608s down on Heidfeld. He was quicker through the speed-trap though.
Patrick Friesacher is already almost a second down on Heidfeld by the time he completed the first sector. At the second split he's 3.1s off the pace, finally crossing the line at 1:39.268, which at least puts him ahead of his teammate.
At the first break the order is; Heidfeld, Schumacher, Davidson, Friesacher and Albers.
Jordan's Tiago Monteiro is next out, thus far he has been largely outshone by teammate Karthikeyan. At the first split he's 0.9s down on Heidfeld, and 2.6s down at the second. The Portuguese driver crosses the line at 1:37.856 to go fourth.
Teammate Karthikeyan is next out. At the first split the Indian is 0.6s down on the WilliamsF1 driver, while at the second split the deficit is 2.7s. The Jordan driver crosses the line at 1:37.806, to take fourth from his teammate.
Under-fire Jacques Villeneuve is next out. His first sector is good, he's down on Heidfeld but it's marginal. At the second split he's 0.7s down on the German, going on to cross the line at 1:34.887, which puts him fourth.
The Toyotas looked good this morning, what can Ralf Schumacher do now, when it really matters? He's already down on Heidfeld at the first split, but only just. He's pushing hard, and makes up time in the second sector, he's up on the WilliamsF1 driver. At the line it's 1:33.106, a great lap and provisional pole from the German.
Jenson Button didn't get any running in the today's second session, he's next out. Sadly, as a result of an engine change, he'll loses ten grid spots. At the first split he's 0.2s up on Schumacher, can he maintain the pace? No, he loses a little ground in the second sector. At the line it's 1:33.616, which is good enough for third. However, we still have ten drivers to run.
At the second break, Ralf Schumacher is quickest, ahead of Heidfeld, Button, Michael, Davidson, Villeneuve, Karthikeyan, Monteiro, Friesacher and Albers.
Felipe Massa is next out, he was on the pace on Friday. At the first split the Brazilian is up on Schumacher, the Sauber star giving a typical bravura performance. Unfortunately he's pushing too hard, and by the second split he has a deficit of 0.6s. He crosses the line at 1:34.151, which puts him fifth, behind Michael Schumacher.
This morning's pacesetter is next out, Jarno Trulli. At the first split he's already 0.4s up on his teammate, could this be the Italian's second consecutive front row start? He maintains the pace, at the second split he's 0.3s up on Ralf. He crosses the line at 1:32.672, taking provisional pole by 0.434s.
Kimi Raikkonen is next, and by the first split he's already 0.1s down on the Italian. He's pushing hard, but he's unable to make an impression on Trulli's time, completing the second sector 0.2s down. Despite this, he crosses the line at 1:32.839 to take second, a strong performance.
Christian Klien was the big sensation this morning, what can he do now? Sadly, he's already down by 0.5s at the first split. At the end of the second sector he's 0.9s off the pace, finally crossing the line at 1:33.724 to take seventh.
Last out before the final break is Juan Pablo Montoya. Like his teammate, he is already 0.1s off the pace at the first sector. He loses more time in the second sector, finally crossing the line at 1:33.333, 0.661s off the pace, and fourth behind Trulli, Raikkonen and Ralf.
Next out is Mark Webber, who, if nothing else, will be keen to finish ahead of his teammate. Like BAR, WilliamsF1 has had a 'difficult' weekend thus far. By the end of the first sector he's already 0.2s down, losing a further tenth of a second in the second sector. At the line it's 1:33.204, which puts him fourth, one spot ahead of his teammate.
Melbourne 'hero' David Coulthard is next out. Like Webber, he's already 0.2s off the pace by the end of the first sector. At the second split he's 0.7s down, going on to cross the line at 1:33.809, just behind his teammate. Ouch!
The Renaults have been looking hot, hot, hot this weekend. First of the blue and yellow boys is Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard is already 0.1s up on Trulli by the end of the first split. He loses ground in the second sector, but provisional pole is still possible. Sure enough, he crosses the line at 1:32.582, to take the top spot.
Ferrari's hopes appear to rest on Rubens Barrichello. Sadly, by the end of the first split the Brazilian is already 0.4s down on his Spanish rival. He loses further ground in the second sector, finally going on to cross the line at 1:34.162, which is only good enough (bad enough?) for thirteenth.
Last out is Melbourne winner Giancarlo Fisichella, can he knock his teammate off the top spot? It's evens-stevens at the first split, it could go either way. He loses ground in the sector, but it's still possible. The Roman crosses the line at 1:32.765, which puts him third, behind Alonso and Trulli.
With no weather upsets, today's picture is a little clearer, though once again the various strategic conundrums make it impossible to make serious comparisons.
That said, in as much as Renault will be delighted, Ferrari will be absolutely gutted, and if anything is going to spur on the Italian team to introduce the F2005 in Bahrain, this is it. Both cars are over 1.4s off the pace, leaving both Maranello drivers with a mountain to climb in the second qualifying session and the race.
A superb performance (again) from Renault, and surely people must now be beginning to take the French outfit very seriously. No disrespect to Toyota and its drivers, but we'll reserve judgement until after the second session, and perhaps the first round of pitstops. That said, the Japanese team does appear to be improving.
Although both McLarens and WilliamsF1s are in the top eight, we're certain that both teams will feel slightly disappointed. Yes they're closing (closed?) the gap to Ferrari, but are they ready to take on Renault, we think not?
As far as BAR is concerned, it appears to be about damage limitation. That's no reflection on Anthony Davidson, but on the whole team, including Honda, which really needs to get to work on the car's aero package and the powerplant's reliability.
Another solid performance from Red Bull, which should surely result in a few more points, while Ferrari and Sauber will need to burn the midnight oil.
We keep hearing that Malaysia, indeed the entire 2005 season, is going to be about tyres. In which case, with the top eleven spots taken by Michelin, Renault and friends are sitting pretty.