27/09/2008
NEWS STORY
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Ahead of today's all-important qualifying session, the air temperature is 30 degrees C, while the track temperature is 31 degrees. Humidity is 69 per cent, and there is no expectation of rain.
While Lewis Hamilton has looked good in all three practice sessions, it's interesting to note that Fernando Alonso has topped the timesheets in two of them. Whether we should be reading anything in to this, only time will tell. Massa has been up there, while Raikkonen has been hit and miss, a situation not helped when he stalled his Ferrari in this morning's session losing precious track-time.
We've reported previously that it has been difficult until now to see a discernable difference between the two tyre compounds available - hard (soft) and soft (super-soft) - which only adds to the tension as we look ahead to this session and tomorrow's race.
While the spin doctors have been pointing out how much praise the drivers have heaped on this track, it should be noted that in this morning's session Robert Kubica referred to the pitlane entry as being "incredibly dangerous". This is in spite of modifications carried out overnight following complaints from numerous drivers yesterday.
In addition to the pitlane entrance, the exit has also been modified, while section of the track have been 'treated' in an attempt to remove the numerous bumps.
It might look great, according to some, but there are lots of problems, and while we do not wish to be moaning for the sake of moaning, one has to wonder how some of these problems, which appear to be basic in the extreme, have been overlooked by the organizers, the FIA and the Grand prix Drivers' Association (GPDA). Things like the bumps and the pitlane entrance were noticeable within seconds of the start of yesterday's first session.
In addition, thankfully, conditions up until now have been perfect, but despite the praise and all round thumbs up, one has to how bad it could really be should the heavens open up mid-session or mid-race.
The lights go green and Sutil is first out, as he usually is. Glock is also eager to get to work, as is Barrichello.
Sutil posts the first time of the session, crossing the line at 48.942, within moments Glock has posted a far more sensible 45.717.
Kimi Raikkonen begins his first flying lap, on softs, the Finn one of the first drivers out this afternoon, having missed a lot of this morning's session. The World Champion crosses the line at 47.049 which is only good enough for sixth.
Mass and Kovalainen (hards) are on track, the Finn running with a new engine having opted to play his 'joker' advantage. The McLaren driver goes quickest in the first sector, and as Nakajima goes second overall (45.764), Hamilton begins his first flying lap.
Massa goes second, only to be demoted by Kovalainen, Vettel and then Hamilton, the Englishman crossing the line at 44.501.
All eyes on Alonso, this morning's pace-setter, who is on softs. The Spaniard duly goes quickest in the first sector, as Kubica goes eleventh. The Renault loses time behind Rosberg in sector two, posts 44.971 to go second. Elsewhere, Glock takes to the escape road at Turn 7.
Fisichella, who crashed out of this morning's session after coming to grief on the kerbs, is yet to make an appearance.
As if to prove the point about the pitlane entry, Barrichello, who is on a hot lap, suddenly finds himself stuck behind a BMW which has slowed as it returns to its pit. The Brazilian is forced to abort his lap and enter the pitlane, his frustration obvious. That said, it could have been worse.
Raikkonen is back on track on softs, as Kovalainen goes quickest (44.311). Hamilton and Alonso remain in the pits, confident that they've already done enough.
With less than three minutes remaining, Raikkonen is in the danger zone, as are Coulthard and Bourdais.
Fisichella clouts the barrier at Turn 3, which brings out the yellow lights. Meanwhile, Raikkonen has gone quickest with a 44.282. Teammate Massa improves to fourth.
Coulthard has less than a minute in which to make good, the Scotsman having only completed 6 laps this morning. The Scotsman crosses the line at 46.028 to go fifteenth, however, Piquet is still on track and could just nick it. The Brazilian fails to improve, and thereby misses the cut, while the replay shows Bourdais having a wild old time trying to keep his Toro Rosso on the black stuff.
"I don't know what's happened," says the Frenchman, "but the car is pulling to the left. I don't what's gone wrong".
At the end of phase one, Raikkonen leads the way, ahead of Kovalainen, Hamilton, Massa, Kubica, Alonso, Vettel, Rosberg, Nakajima and Glock.
We lose Piquet, Bourdais, Barrichello, Sutil and Fisichella.
The second phase gets underway, and it is, somewhat surprisingly, Kovalainen who is first out, on softs. With the next sixty seconds he is joined by Raikkonen, Alonso, Massa and Hamilton.
It's all over for Alonso, and boy is the man angry. The replay shows that he suddenly experienced a technical problem, his crew advising him, "you've got to stop mate, you've got to stop". He duly pulls off into one of the escape roads, his frustration clear for all to see.
Kovalainen goes quickest, but in no time at all Raikkonen and several others have gone quicker. Meanwhile, Hamilton aborts his lap after getting it wrong at Turn 1.
Massa goes quickest to make it a Ferrari 1-2-3, for Vettel is third in the Ferrari-powered Toro Rosso. Rosberg is fourth, ahead of Webber and Coulthard. Kovalainen has slipped down to eleventh, with his teammate yet to post a time.
Kubica (softs) goes fourth with a 44.519, while his teammate, Nick Heidfeld (also softs) foes fifth moments later.
Kovalainen is back on track on hards, while teammate Hamilton is still in his garage his crew working furiously on his car. As the Finn crosses the line at 44.207 to go second, Hamilton leaves the pits. "You have time for two laps," the McLaren driver is told.
With just over two minutes remaining, Hamilton is in the danger zone, along with Trulli, Button, Glock and Alonso, whose session is over.
Hamilton (softs) locks up in Turn 3, losing around 0.2s. He locks up again in the second sector, before encountering the Red Bulls, both of them in sector three. He crosses the line at 44.932 to go eighth. A scrappy lap.
With the phase at an end, officially, there are still fourteen drivers on track.
Glock improves to fifth, as Heidfeld goes quickest in sector two. Hamilton is having another scrappy lap, he fails to improve, but so do most of his rivals, consequently he drops to tenth but escapes to fight it out in phase three. One could say that Alonso's bad luck has paid off for his former McLaren teammate.
At the end of phase two we lose, Trulli, Button, Webber, Coulthard and Alonso.
Quickest was Massa, ahead of Kovalainen, Raikkonen, Vettel, Rosberg, Glock, Kubica, Heidfeld, Nakajima and Hamilton.
The final phase gets underway, and Sebastian Vettel is first out. Followed, over the next sixty seconds by the other nine drivers battling it out for pole.
Vettel (hards) begins his flying lap, the Toro Rosso looking very good. Raikkonen, Kubica and Glock all posting strong times in various sectors.
Vettel crosses the line at 46.614, but this is almost immediately beaten by Raikkonen who posts 46.037.
Hamilton (hards) takes the top spot with a 45.638, but is soon eclipsed by Massa (hards) with his 45.491. Kovalainen (soft) can only manage tenth (48.490). Heidfeld goes fifth and Kubica sixth.
The final phase gets underway, Kovalainen the last driver to take to the track. Around two minutes to go.
Raikkonen will be the first of the 'big guns' to complete his second flyer, the Finn is on hards. Massa goes quickest in sector one.
Raikkonen improves to second with a 45.617, but is eclipsed by Hamilton who goes quickest. However, all eyes on Massa who crosses the line at 44.801 to take his fifth pole of 2008.
Kubica takes fourth, while a last ditch effort sees Kovalainen go fifth, ahead of Heidfeld, Vettel, Glock, Rosberg and Nakajima.
"A stunning lap mate," Rob Smedley tells Massa, and how right he is. A superb lap from the Brazilian just when he needed it.
Despite a horrendous phase two, Hamilton got his act together when it mattered, taking a convincing second and thereby splitting the Ferraris. Consequently, we get the two main title protagonists starting this historic race from the front row.
Another excellent performance from Robert Kubica, while Sebastian Vettel continues to do the impossible in the Toro Rosso.
Good performances from Kovalainen and Heidfeld, while Glock upholds the honours for Toyota and Williams gets both cars into the final phase for the first time this season.
As we look ahead to tomorrow's race, the big question, other than the weather, is strategy.
It is thought that some drivers may be making as many as three stops, while there is still some confusion as to whether the soft or super-soft is the better tyre.
The spin doctors are still trying to sell us the event, let's all hope it can do the job without the hype. As we said yesterday, having watched a re-run of the 1990 United States Grand Prix in Phoenix, when Ayrton Senna went head to head with young upstart Jean Alesi.
Street tracks, especially those with numerous 90-degree turns, don't have to be boring, not if the drivers really intend racing.