09/07/2005
NEWS STORY
Sadly, Kimi Raikkonen's engine failure in this morning's second free practice session means that we are robbed of the Alonso/Raikkonen battle for pole that we'd all hoped for.
That said, we should still be in for an interesting session, with Giancarlo Fisichella, Juan Pablo Montoya and the Toyota duo looking good, while, local hero Jenson Button should never be discounted.
Ahead of today's session the air temperature is 20 degrees C, while the track temperature has risen to 33 degrees.
First out will be Magny Cours' first retiree, Christian Klien, who will be followed by Massa, Friesacher, Albers and Montoya.
With Raikkonen facing a grid penalty, it's thought that his Colombian teammate might run light in an effort to secure pole, and thereby control the race and help the McLaren cause.
At the 13:00 on the dot, Klien leaves the Red Bull garage, the session is underway.
At the first split the Austrian posts 25.849, followed by a 1:01.431 at the second. Using all the track, he crosses the line at 1:22.207. A workmanlike performance from Christian.
Felipe Massa is next out, the Brazilian completing the first sector in 25.991, he's 0.14s down on Klien. At the second split it's 1:01.654 as he continues to lose ground. At the line the Sauber driver posts 1:22.495 to go second.
Patrick Friesacher is on track in the Minardi, once again the car is all over the place. At the first split it's 27.121, he's already over a second off the pace. At the second split it's 1:04.056, the PS05 is a real handful, horrible to watch. A 1:25.566 puts him third, 3.3s off the pace.
Teammate Christijan albers is next. At the first split the Dutch driver posts 26.867, again the car looks dreadful, but he's up on his teammate. At the second split it's 1:03.446, followed by a 1:24.576 at the line.
All eyes on Juan Pablo Montoya, what will his strategy be? At the first split the Colombian posts 25.374, he's 0.475s up on Klien. At the second split the McLaren driver posts 1:00.022, increasing the gap to 1.4s. At the line it's 1:20.382 to take provisional pole, which clearly pleases the McLaren crew.
Narain Karthikeyan is on track, the Indian has a lot of experience of this track. At the first split it's 26.462, he's a second down, but up on the Minardis. At the second split it's 1:02.466, followed by a 1:23.583 at the line.
Unusual to see a WilliamsF1 go out this early, especially when it isn't due to a retirement in France. At the first split it's 25.760, he's already 0.38s down on Montoya. He makes a mistake at Abbey and consequently completes the second sector in 1:01.412, 1.3s down on the McLaren. At the line it's 1:22.117, he's second but he'll be lucky to finish in the top ten.
Next out is Tiago Monteiro, who, certainly in recent races, has outshone his teammate. The Portuguese driver returns to the pits at the end of his out-lap, failing to post a time.
Therefore, Mark Williams is next out in the second of the WilliamsF1s. As previously reported, the Williams drivers are running different cars, Mark running the MKII version. At the first split it's 25.882, he's already 0.508s down on Montoya. At the second split it's 1:01.290, as he drops to 1.26s behind the Colombian. At the line it's 1:21.997, which puts him second.
Takuma Sato is on track in the BAR. At the first split the Japanese driver posts 25.776, he's 0.4s down on the McLaren. At the second split it's 1:00.604, he's still in touch with second spot. At the line it's 1:21.114, which does indeed put the BAR driver second.
At the second break, it's Montoya, Sato, Webber, Heidfeld, Klien, Massa, Karthikeyan, Albers, Friesacher and Monteiro.
Next out is David Coulthard, who earlier this week secured a one-year extension to his Red Bull contract.
At the first split the Scot posts 25.787, he's 0.413s down on Montoya. At the second split it's 1:01.242, as he loses further ground to the McLaren. At the line it's 1:22.108, which him fourth, ahead of Heidfeld and (teammate) Klien. A great lap from DC, who has won here twice before.
Rubens Barrichello is next out, the Ferrari star greeted by a raucous blast of air-horns. At the first split it's 25.392, he's 0.2s down on his fellow South American. At the second split it's 1:00.212, he's only 0.190s down on the McLaren. At the line it's 1:20.906, which puts him second by 0.524, having lost a lot of time in the complex.
Jacques Villeneuve is on track in the Sauber. At the first split the Canadian posts 25.901, he's 0.52s don on Montoya. At the second split it's 1:00.862, he's now 0.84s down on the McLaren driver. At the line it's 1:21.352 which puts him fourth, thanks to a strong final sector. Another good lap from the former Champion.
At the first split Ralf Schumacher posts 25.614, he's 0.24s down on Montoya. At the second split the German posts 1:00.587, he's now 0.56s down on the Colombian. At the line it's 1:21.191, which puts him fourth, thereby demoting Villeneuve.
Last out before the final break is Giancarlo Fisichella. At the first split the Italian posts 25.356, he's 0.018s up on Montoya. At the second split the Renault driver posts 1:00.403, as he loses ground to the McLaren driver. At the line it's 1:21.010, which puts him third behind Montoya and Barrichello, his lap appeared to deteriorate as it went on.
At the final break it's: Montoya, Barrichello, Fisichella, Sato, Ralf, Villeneuve, Webber, Coulthard, Heidfeld and Klien.
Next out is Jarno Trulli in the second Toyota. At the first split the Italian posts 25.404, he's down on Montoya but it's marginal. At the second split it's 1:00.237, as he falls 0.215s behind the McLaren. At the line it's 1:20.459, which puts him second, a brilliant final sector from Jarno.
Next out is Jenson Button in the BAR. At the first split the Englishman posts 25.516, he's 0.14s down on Montoya. At the second split it's 1:00.003, he's 0.019s up on the McLaren driver. At the line it's 1:20.207, which puts him on provisional pole for his home race. The crowd is clearly delighted, but it's a little early to start celebrating.
Michael Schumacher is on track in the Ferrari. At the first split the World Champion posts 25.517, he's down on Button by just 0.001s! At the second split it's 1:00.526 as he loses a whole heap of time. At the final split it's 1:21.275, which puts him eighth, his lap fell apart in the last two sectors.
At the first split Kimi Raikkonen posts 25.121, as he goes 0.395s quicker than Button. He's giving it 100% as he completes the second sector in 59.634, he's still up on Button. At the line it's 1:19.932, which should put him on pole but in reality he will start eleventh or twelfth due to that penalty.
All eyes on Fernando Alonso. The World Championship leader completes the first sector in 25.229, he's 0.108s down on the Finn. At the second split it's 59.617, which puts him quickest. At the line it's 1:19.905, which gives him outright pole position, ahead of Button, with Raikkonen demoted to eleventh.
The final order is: Alonso, Raikkonen, Button, Montoya, Trulli, Barrichello, Fisichella, Sato, Ralf and Michael.
Villeneuve is eleventh quickest, ahead of Webber, Coulthard, Heidfeld, Klien, Massa, Karthikeyan, Albers, Friesacher and Monteiro.
Another blistering qualifying lap from Fernando, however all credit to Kimi, Jenson and Juan Pablo.
Trulli will probably be disappointed with fifth, however it's his race pace that give cause for concern.
Both Ferraris lost heaps of time in the final two sectors, though the correct strategy could still see them - especially Michael - fighting for a podium.
Rules are rules and we must all accept them. However, one cannot help but feel that we are losing out here.
For the second successive race we are missing out on a (fair) thrilling race between two championship contenders, because of the new engine regulations.
Max Mosley makes much of the fact that 'fans' are not interested in the technicalities of F1 and what happens 'under the bonnet', indeed this week the FIA confirmed that what fans really want is overtaking and the racing put back into the hands of the drivers.
However, the new rules penalize not just Raikkonen - and any other driver than changes engines - but the fans, who merely want to see the fastest men racing one another.
We are certain the Kimi will be on the podium tomorrow afternoon, it's just that it would have been nice to see him going at it 'hammer and tongs' alongside Fernando on the approach to Copse and then on to Becketts.
We've been robbed.