02/04/2005
NEWS STORY
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Spare a thought for Rubens Barrichello, who goes into today's qualifying session having only completed 5 laps of the Bahrain circuit thus far this weekend. This afternoon he'll be using the (repaired) gearbox that failed yesterday, with a brand new 'box' on its way from Maranello for tomorrow's session. The Brazilian is really up against it.
Not having competed in Malaysia - indeed not having raced since Suzuka 2002 - Pedro de la Rosa will be first out today, followed by Takuma Sato, Patrick Friesacher and Jenson Button.
With four minutes remaining before the session gets underway, the air temperature is 41 degrees C, while the track temperature is 53 degrees.
Bang on time, de la Rosa leaves the McLaren garage, the session is underway.
The Spaniard, who has looked good all weekend, posts 28.969 at the first split. He's really at a disadvantage being first out as the track is very dirty. At the second split it's 1:08.312. At the line the McLaren 'tester' posts 1:30.725.
Next out is Sato, who missed Malaysia as a result of a virus. At the first split the Japanese driver posts 29.143, he's 0.17 down on de la Rosa. At the second split it's 1:08.726 as he loses a further 0.3s. The BAR driver crosses the line at 1:31.113, to go second, 0.388sd down on the McLaren.
Minardi's Patrick Friesacher completes the first sector in 30.070, he's already over a second down on de la Rosa. At the second split it's 1:11.671, he's now 3.3s down. The Austrian crosses the line at 1:34.848 to go third. A decent lap in what is clearly a horrible car.
Jenson Button is next out, the Englishman really needs a decent result this weekend. At the first split the Englishman posts 29.201, he's down by around 0.2s, however he makes up time in the second sector, edging ahead of his teammate. He crosses the line at 1:30.957 to go second, 0.232s off de la Rosa's pace.
Jacques Villeneuve is next out, another driver under pressure. He completes the first sector in 30.1, going on to complete the second in 1:09.009, he's 0.698s off the pace. He goes very wide on the exit to the final corner, which costs him a load of time. He crosses the line at 1:32.318, which puts him fourth.
At the first break it's de la Rosa, Button, Sato, Villeneuve and Friesacher.
This morning's pace-setter, Mark Webber, is first out. At the first split the Australian posts 29.043, he's slower than de la Rosa, but it's marginal. At the second split it's 1:08.406, he's now 0.095s down on the Spaniard. At the line it's 1:30.592, he's made up a lot of time and consequently takes pole.
Melbourne winner, Giancarlo Fisichella, is next out. At the first split the Renault driver posts 28.916, he's 0.127s up on the WilliamsF1 driver. At the second split it's 1:08.162, he's now almost quarter of a second up on Webber. A 1:30.445 sees the Roman take provisional pole.
Now its Rubens Barrichello's turn, what can he do, what can the F2005 do? At the first split the Brazilian posts 29.758, having made a real mess of Turn 1. At the second split it's 1:09.262, he's now over a second down on Fisichella. At the line it's 1:31.826, he goes sixth, of eight.
Christijan Albers is next out. At the first split the Dutch star posts 29.640, he's 0.724s down on the Renault. Like his teammate, he's working hard. It's 1:10.768 at the second split, he's doing well, considering. At the line the Minardi driver posts 1:34.005, which puts him eighth.
Tiago Monteiro is last out before the second break. At the first split the Portuguese driver posts 29.861, he's almost a second off the pace. At the second split the Jordan driver posts 1:10.399, he's 2.3s off the pace. At the line it's 1:33.424, which puts him eighth.
At the second break it's Fisichella, Webber, de la Rosa, Button, Sato, Barrichello, Villeneuve, Monteiro, Albers and Friesacher.
Narain Karthikeyan is next out in the second Jordan. The Indian posts 29.436 at the first split, followed by a 1:10.029 at the second. At the line it's 1:33.190 which puts him eighth.
Felipe Massa completes the first sector in 28.905, which puts him ahead of Fisichella by 0.011s. At the second split it's 1:08.649 as he loses ground, he's now 0.4s down on the Renault. At the line the Brazilian posts 1:30.933, which puts him fourth, a superb performance.
Now it's the turn of McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen. At the first split the Finn posts 28.829, which puts him 0.087s up on Fisichella. At the second split the McLaren star posts 1:08.046, he's now 0.115s up on the Renault. He crosses the line at 1:30.594 having lost a heap of time in the final sector. He's down on Fisichella but ahead of de la Rosa, but only just.
Christian Klien is on track in the Red Bull. He posts 28.954 at the first split, followed by a 1:08.409 at the second. He's only 0.24s off the pace. At the line it's 1:30.646 which puts him fourth, splitting the two McLarens. A great lap from the Austrian.
At the first split Michael Schumacher posts 28.728s, he's up on Fisichella by around 0.18s. At the second split the German posts 1:07.949, he's now 0.212s up on the Renault. At the line the world champion posts 1:30.237, he takes provisional pole by 0.208s. A typically brilliant lap from the German.
At the final break it's; Michael, Fisichella, Webber, Raikkonen, Klien, de la Rosa, Massa, Button, Sato and Barrichello.
Five drivers still to run, Coulthard, Ralf, Heidfeld, Trulli and Malaysia winner Fernando Alonso.
At the first split Coulthard posts 29.215, he's down on Schumacher and more importantly down on Klien. At the second split it's 1:08.702, he's now 0.75s off the pace, but almost even with his teammate. At the line it's 1:31.211, as he loses a whole load of time. The Scot goes tenth.
Ralf Schumacher is next out, in the Toyota. At the first split he posts 29.007, he around quarter-of-a-second down on his brother. He makes a big mistake at Turn 5 losing a load of time. Consequently he completes the second sector in 1:08.756. At the line it's 1:30.952, which puts him eighth.
Malaysia hero Nick Heidfeld is next out, At the first split he posts 29.083, he's 0.35s down on Schumacher. At the second split the German posts 1:08.330, he's 0.38s off the pace. He crosses the line at 1:30.390, which puts him second, a brilliant performance, his final sector was stunning.
Another Malaysia hero, Jarno Trulli is on track. At the first split he posts 28.917, he's 0.18s down on Schumacher. At the second split the Italian posts 1:07.940, he's 0.008s up on Schumacher. At the line the Toyota star posts 1:29.993 to take provisional pole. A stunning lap.
Last out is Malaysia winner, and world championship leader, Fernando Alonso. At the first split the Spaniard posts 28.658, he's already 0.25s up on Trulli. At the second split it's 1:07.471, he's now 0.468s up on his former teammate. At the line it's 1:29.848, an absolutely brilliant lap to give the youngster provisional pole.
Provisionally we have the same front row as we had at Sepang, with Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli heading the pack. However, right behind them we have Michael Schumacher and Nick Heidfeld.
Schumacher's performance, in particular, was excellent, however it remains to be seen how his tyres will perform in the race. Over one lap the Bridgestones are clearly superb, but how will they fare on Sunday?
A good day for Renault, while it was only a silly mistake that prevented Ralf Schumacher from joining his Toyota teammate up front.
WilliamsF1 will be buoyed by the performances of their drivers, with Heidfeld looking particularly good.
McLaren will be fairly happy, though Raikkonen is certainly under pressure from de la Rosa and will need to raise his game tomorrow.
Christian Klien did well to out-pace his Scottish teammate, while Felipe Massa will every right to feel pleased with his performance.
No doubt, following his Malaysia outburst, Jenson Button will be under order to keep his lip buttoned - so to speak - however the Englishman, and his Japanese teammate, will surely be feeling very, very frustrated at twelfth and thirteenth.
Coulthard's lack of pace, particularly compared to his teammate, is surprising, while for Rubens Barrichello it was all about damage limitation, and in fact he did pretty well, under the circumstances.
Another lowly place on the timesheets for Villeneuve, however it was looking good until he made that mistake at the final corner.
It's business as usual at the back, with Karthikeyan outpacing Monteiro (Mr Conservative) and Albers outpacing Friesacher.
Tomorrow, both qualifying, and the race, look promising. Let's hope they live up to expectations.