26/09/2008
NEWS STORY
Ahead of today's second free practice session, the air temperature is 29 degrees C, and the track temperature is 29 degrees. Humidity is 71 per cent.
During the brief one-hour break we watched the 1990 United States Grand Prix from Phoenix, the race where Ayrton Senna battled a precocious young upstart called Jean Alesi. Just goes to show what can happen on the most mundane of circuits when you have two real racers.
Anyway, just in case you were wondering what really matters in F1 these days, as opposed to racing, one only has to look at the end of the pitlane. At a time when the drivers should be queuing up to get the session underway, the pitlane is filled with corporate guests all taking pictures of nothing in particular. As the marshals work to remove the guests from the area, Race Control announces that the start of the session has been delayed by two minutes. And still they snap away! Pathetic.
Finally, the lights go green, Nico Rosberg getting things underway. Kubica, Vettel, Nakajima and Alonso are also keen to get to work, or maybe just eager to run down a couple of the corporates.
Rosberg gets it all wrong at Webber's corner - as it shall be known until the organizers come up with something better - having to take to the escape road. However, next time around the boy makes up for his mistake, taking top spot back from Alonso.
As Kovalainen begins his first flying lap, Race Control announces that no rain is expected during the session. Time will tell.
Nakajima is third, ahead of Vettel, Heidfeld and Piquet, with Coulthard, Kubica and Sutil making up the top nine.
Nakajima follows his teammate's example and takes to the escape road at Webber's corner, as Kovalainen improves to second (46.944).
On his second flying lap, Massa improves to fourth, albeit 0.861s off Rosberg's pace. The replay shows the Brazilian brushing the wall ever so slightly and throwing up what looks like polystyrene marbles.
Seventeen minutes into the session, Hamilton begins his first flying lap. The McLaren driver goes quickest in the second sector, and third, crossing the line at 46.113 to go quickest.
Coulthard, one of the first to appear in this session on the soft (super-soft) tyres, gets out of shape at his teammate's corner, but somehow manages to keep it out of the escape road and the barriers.
Hamilton improves with a 46.080, as Barrichello and Glock head down the pitlane, leaving Raikkonen, Webber and Bourdais as the only drivers yet to appear.
Heidfeld gets very, very close to 'that' wall, as Massa is back on track on softs (super-softs). Meanwhile, Raikkonen is also on track, running on hards.
Replay shows Raikkonen getting out of shape after really riding the kerbs. One good thing about this lighting is that some drivers are wearing lightly tinted visors - as opposed to the really dark version we're used to - therefore you can see them quite clearly.
Bourdais claims that soft springs won't help as his car is "too high", he feels he has no control over the car. Elsewhere, Heidfeld follows Raikkonen's example and has a hard time on the kerbs.
Raikkonen improves to fifth (47.354), but remains over 4.5s off Hamilton's time.
Kubica (softs) posts personal bests in all three sectors, improving to third overall with a 46.384. Meanwhile, in the Red Bull garage, the mechanics continue to work on Mark Webber's car which has yet to appear this afternoon.
Having had to take to an escape road, Felipe Massa makes a right 'pigs ear' out of getting back on track again, almost coming a cropper.
As the locals make their way home from work in cars, vans and buses, Felipe Massa's scarlet Ferrari races past underneath them… a surreal image.
At 'half-time', it's: Hamilton, Rosberg, Kubica, Raikkonen, Massa, Alonso, Kovalainen, Heidfeld, Nakajima and Vettel.
Great on-board shot of Coulthard. The camera is facing backwards looking at the driver, and with the lightly tinted visor you can see the total concentration in the Scotsman's eyes.
Fisichella tells his crew that he has a problem, and they respond by telling him to head back to the pits. As the Italian slows to enter the pitlane, the car behind him (a BMW?) is forced to run wide to avoid him. This isn't the fault of the Force India but what would appear to be a problem with the way the track has been designed. Definitely another item on the list of 'things to do' before 2009.
Webber, watched by his Dad, looks as though he is finally ready to go out. Thus far, the Australian has only completed four laps today.
Raikkonen back on track on softs, and above him the Singaporeans continue to go about their business.
We're onboard with Massa as the Brazilian improves to second with a 46.904, albeit still 0.289s off Hamilton's pace.
With twenty-five minutes remaining, Webber is finally on track. David Coulthard is running behind the Australian as though riding shotgun.
Webber's first timed lap is 51.666, 5.861s off the pace. However, next time around he improves to 50.898. Softly, softly.
From out of nowhere, Massa produces a 45.793 to go quickest, just 0.012s ahead of his title rival.
"What's the problem?" Bourdais is asked. "The problem is…" replies the Frenchman, the frustration obvious, "… the tyres, they keep going away. I can't do a thing with them".
Just under fourteen minutes remain.
Kovalainen is on track, on hards, and at the second split he's up on Massa. He crosses the line at 47.797, just 0.004s shy of the Ferrari driver. The top three are covered by 0.012s.
Hamilton is back on track, but, unlike his teammate, he is on softs. The McLaren driver goes quickest in the second sector, crossing the line at 45.752 to go quickest, by 0.041s.
Raikkonen is also back on track, and, like Hamilton, on softs. The Finn is currently sixth, 0.828s off the pace. Despite a personal best in the second sector, the Finn is unable to improve.
Mark Webber finally drags his Red Bull off the bottom of the timesheets, posting 47.137 to go ninth. Now one has to wonder when Trulli will get the Toyota in the top half of the timesheets.
Alonso (softs) goes quickest with a 45.654, causing Flavio Briatore to break into a wide grin. Elsewhere, Timo Glock returns to the pits minus his front wing, which came off after clouting the wall.
The session ends with Fernando Alonso topping the timesheets, having pulled his time from out of nowhere. Hamilton is second, ahead of Massa, Kovalainen, Rosberg, Kubica, Raikkonen, Button, Nakajima and Glock.
We still can't warm to the track, the lighting or the sound, however, we cannot help but feel that the race could spring a few surprises. Let's hope so.