17/03/2007
NEWS STORY
Due to the weather conditions the first of yesterday's two sessions was something of a lottery, while the second session gave us a better idea of where things really stand.
The BMW is definitely living up to expectations, as are Ferrari and McLaren. Renault remains confident, despite the technical (fuel pressure)problems that eliminated both cars. Honda is struggling for balance, while a check of our Friday picture gallery gives a clear indication of how the Red Bull/Toro Rosso drivers are feeling.
Williams made a late improvement, while Toyota is one of several teams struggling for grip.
The big surprise yesterday was the pace of the Super Aguri (nee Honda), which saw the little Japanese team outpace several much bigger outfits, not least Honda. Finally, there's Spyker, which as Mike Gascoyne says, needs to get its tyres to work.
Two drivers who will have to behave themselves today are Kimi Raikkonen and Giancarlo Fisichella.
The Finn has the dubious honour of being the first F1 driver to be fined this season, receiving a 200 (euro) fine for speeding in the pitlane. However, this is but nothing compared to the Italian who was hit with a 3,600 (euro) fine - for the same offence, albeit going a lot quicker, 78.2 kph as opposed to 61.7 kph. The pitlane speed limit is 60 kph.
With five minutes to go before today's sole practice session, the air temperature is 19 degrees C, and the track temperature is 26 degrees. It's overcast and cool, unseasonably cool. There has been rain earlier, and consequently the session has been declared "wet". Though there is no further rain predicted within the next hour, showers are being forecast for qualifying.
The lights go green but it's a couple of minutes before the first engine fires up, and another minute before Christijan Albers heads down the pitlane. The Dutch driver is subsequently followed by Trulli, Fisichella, Speed, Sutil, Liuzzi and Wurz. Kovalainen, Button and Alonso are also 'early risers'.
As Schumacher leaves the pits, Button, having completed his installation lap, continues round, hopefully to post the first time of the day. At the end of his second lap the Englishman returns to his garage.
Looking at the crowd it's really nippy out there, most of them are well wrapped up, and some wearing see-through macs - just in case. There is also a fairly strong wind.
Thirteen minutes intro the session and still no times on the timesheets. Due to the uncertainty of the track conditions, nobody is really willing to take a risk.
Nick Heidfeld goes out and having posted fastest time in the first two sectors dives back into the pits. This is the signal for Alonso to climb back into his car.
Nineteen minutes into the session, Albers gets things going, posting the benchmark time (1:35.202). This is immediately beaten by his teammate (34.506). This is the cue for Kubica to leave the pits.
Despite a major lock-up, Sutil improves again, crossing the line at 32.781. In the pits Alonso watches with interest.
Fisichella and Barrichello are both on track, the Italian taking 0.5s out of Sutil in the first sector. The Renault driver crosses the line at 29.866, while Jarno Trulli goes third (31.574).
Albers complains of having problems with his gearbox, as Barrichello goes fourth (31.906), behind Trulli.
As Fisichella improves to 29.065, Button and Schumacher leave the pits. Trulli goes second, ahead of Sutil and Barrichello.
All eyes on Kimi Raikkonen, as Liuzzi goes fifth, albeit 2.45s off the pace. As Raikkonen goes quickest (28.154), Alonso goes quickest in the first sector.
The Spaniard takes top spot with a 27.612, as the Finn improves with a 27.816. Elsewhere, Trulli goes wide.
Hamilton and Massa are both on track, as Raikkonen goes quickest in the first two sectors, finally crossing the line at 26.616, to re-take the top spot.
Massa makes it a Ferrari 1-2, crossing the line at 27.352, however, Hamilton is just beginning his first flying lap of the day. At the first split the English driver is 0.2s down, losing a further 0.4s in the second sector. He finally crosses the line at 28.012 to go fifth, behind Kubica.
Coulthard goes seventh, then takes to the grass, as teammate Webber remains almost 4s off the pace in sixteenth.
Alexander Wurz goes seventh, leaving Kovalainen and Rosberg as the only drivers that haven't posted times. Meanwhile, Massa takes top spot by eight-thousandths of a second. Hamilton also improves, the McLaren driver going third with a 27.083. Rosberg posts 28.061 to go third.
Rosberg grinds to a halt in the first sector, as Massa locks up heading into the pitlane, the Brazilian in danger of breaking the speed limit.
The reply shows that Rosberg clearly had a technical failure, and had to drive across the track to park it. He climbs from the car his session over.
As Kubica goes quickest in the first sector, Button, Barrichello, Trulli and Schumacher are all rooted at the wrong end of the timesheets.
Just over fifteen minutes remaining: Massa, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Alonso, Kubica, Wurz, Fisichella, Rosberg, Kovalainen and Heidfeld. Elsewhere, Schumacher improves to fifteenth, behind Davidson.
The mechanics are working frantically on Webbers car, "we're up against it timewise", they admit. Meanwhile, Heidfeld goes sixth, to make the top six nicely symmetrical - Ferrari, McLaren and BMW.
Raikkonen goes quickest in the first sector, and again in the third, crossing the line at 26.106 to take top spot.
Schumacher advises that his car is "very nervous, especially under braking".
Barrichello is back on track, the Brazilian currently nineteenth, two spots ahead of his teammate. The Honda driver crosses the line at 28.45 to go twelfth. Elsewhere, Webber is finally back on track, going sixth with a 27.734. However, he is instantly demoted by Davidson who posts 27.083.
No sooner has Fisichella gone second than Heidfeld improves to fourth, the session finally kicking into life.
Kovalainen goes fifth, as Button improves to fourteenth. The Englishman is pushing hard, but he remains over 2s off the pace.
Just over four minutes remaining and the action is fast and furious. Both Toro Rosso drivers are pushing hard, but unable to make an impression.
Alonso goes quickest in the first sector, and by the second split he's 0.19s up on Raikkonen. However, a poor final sector, in which he goes wide, sees him lose heaps of time, and consequently he fails to improve.
Not content, Raikkonen makes a final charge and improves yet again, raising the benchmark with a 26.064. Meanwhile, in a similar final burst, Anthony Davidson goes fourth, ahead of Massa, Heidfeld and Alonso. If this continues, a lot of people in the paddock are going to be extremely p****d off, and Williams and Spyker won't be the only teams protesting the SA07's legality, especially as Takuma Sato has finished ninth.
The session ends with Kimi Raikkonen quickest, ahead of Fisichella, Hamilton, Davidson, Massa, Heidfeld, Alonso, Kovalainen, Sato and Wurz.