LUD02C
24-10-2004, 01:05 AM
Michael has crashed.
Barrichello sets the pace as Schumacher crashes
Brazilian GP - Fourth practice
Schumacher's off damaged the F2004 badly
The fourth and final practice session ahead of this afternoon’s pre- qualifying and qualifying sessions saw Rubens Barrichello lead the way once again for Ferrari with a stunning new lap record around the 4.309km Interlagos circuit. While Barrichello enjoys home-town attention, Michael Schumacher will be being checked over following a high speed crash that saw him leave the circuit at high speed. Schumacher was unhurt, but Ferrari now face the task of salvaging something from the badly damaged F2004.
Barrichello set the pace with a best lap of 1:10.229s, just a tenth ahead of the second Ferrari of Schumacher. The seven-time champion brought out the red flags just under two minutes before the scheduled conclusion of the 45-minute session and while he may have damaged his F2004 badly, the fact is that Ferrari are the team to beat once again this weekend.
Kimi Raikkonen set the third fastest time in his McLaren Mercedes while David Coulthard recovered from a spin entering the pits to post a best lap just 0.033s off the Finn’s best to take the fourth position.
Jenson Button set the fifth best time for BAR Honda with Takuma Sato three places back with Fernando Alonso and Ralf Schumacher in between. Mark Webber dragged the Jaguar R5 up into the top-ten for the first time this weekend with the ninth fastest time ahead of Felipe Massa in the Sauber Petronas.
Juan Pablo Montoya admitted yesterday that he was having trouble balancing the BMW Williams and today it seems that he still has some work to do ahead of qualifying as the Colombian was just 11th fastest ahead of Jacques Villeneuve in the second Renault.
Giancarlo Fisichella was 13th fastest in what is quite an up and down weekend from the Italian Sauber driver, while Ricardo Zonta led the way for Toyota with the 14th best time – fraction ahead of team- mate Jarno Trulli.
Christian Klien was 16th in the second Jaguar ahead of the customer Ford runners of Nick Heidfeld, Zsolt Baumgartner, Timo Glock and Gianmaria Bruni.
Pre-qualifying begins at 17:00 CET, 16:00 BST as Ferrari assess the damage to Michael Schumacher’s F2004. The team will be hoping that the engine is not damaged so they can transfer the V10 to the spare chassis – assuming the primary F2004 is damaged beyond repair. Failing that, Schumacher faces a ten-position penalty on the grid.
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
Go Rubens.
http://f1.racing-live.com/photos/imgactu/04/schumacher-interlagos_231004_220x142.jpg
Barrichello sets the pace as Schumacher crashes
Brazilian GP - Fourth practice
Schumacher's off damaged the F2004 badly
The fourth and final practice session ahead of this afternoon’s pre- qualifying and qualifying sessions saw Rubens Barrichello lead the way once again for Ferrari with a stunning new lap record around the 4.309km Interlagos circuit. While Barrichello enjoys home-town attention, Michael Schumacher will be being checked over following a high speed crash that saw him leave the circuit at high speed. Schumacher was unhurt, but Ferrari now face the task of salvaging something from the badly damaged F2004.
Barrichello set the pace with a best lap of 1:10.229s, just a tenth ahead of the second Ferrari of Schumacher. The seven-time champion brought out the red flags just under two minutes before the scheduled conclusion of the 45-minute session and while he may have damaged his F2004 badly, the fact is that Ferrari are the team to beat once again this weekend.
Kimi Raikkonen set the third fastest time in his McLaren Mercedes while David Coulthard recovered from a spin entering the pits to post a best lap just 0.033s off the Finn’s best to take the fourth position.
Jenson Button set the fifth best time for BAR Honda with Takuma Sato three places back with Fernando Alonso and Ralf Schumacher in between. Mark Webber dragged the Jaguar R5 up into the top-ten for the first time this weekend with the ninth fastest time ahead of Felipe Massa in the Sauber Petronas.
Juan Pablo Montoya admitted yesterday that he was having trouble balancing the BMW Williams and today it seems that he still has some work to do ahead of qualifying as the Colombian was just 11th fastest ahead of Jacques Villeneuve in the second Renault.
Giancarlo Fisichella was 13th fastest in what is quite an up and down weekend from the Italian Sauber driver, while Ricardo Zonta led the way for Toyota with the 14th best time – fraction ahead of team- mate Jarno Trulli.
Christian Klien was 16th in the second Jaguar ahead of the customer Ford runners of Nick Heidfeld, Zsolt Baumgartner, Timo Glock and Gianmaria Bruni.
Pre-qualifying begins at 17:00 CET, 16:00 BST as Ferrari assess the damage to Michael Schumacher’s F2004. The team will be hoping that the engine is not damaged so they can transfer the V10 to the spare chassis – assuming the primary F2004 is damaged beyond repair. Failing that, Schumacher faces a ten-position penalty on the grid.
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
Go Rubens.
http://f1.racing-live.com/photos/imgactu/04/schumacher-interlagos_231004_220x142.jpg