06/03/2005
NEWS STORY
In many respects today's qualifying session is pretty much redundant, that is unless we get a major downpour round about the halfway mark.
Other than that it appears that Giancarlo Fisichella will start from pole with the McLarens and Ferraris at the back end of the grid. Other than a massive weather upset there is no way that the Woking and Maranello teams can make up the deficit.
The air temperature is 15 degrees C while the track temperature is 20 degrees.
Fisichella has already said that his qualifying lap today will be "conservative", which is what we expect from many of his rivals.
The big news is that the engine in Michael Schumacher's car has been changed, which is hardly going to affect him when it comes to losing ten grid spots. BAR's Takuma Sato has also had an engine change.
Felipe Massa should have been first out, but the Brazilian has opted not to run, which is his prerogative. Therefore, Sato will be first out.
Massa's decision to sit out this session means that his first lap today will be when he goes out to take his place on the grid. An odd decision.
At three minutes past ten, Sato exits the BAR garage, the session is underway. At the end of his 'out' lap the Japanese driver pulls into the pits, he isn't going to bother posting a time. Unlike Massa, at least he's had the opportunity to perform a full systems check.
Michael Schumacher leaves his garage, will he follow Sato's example and not bother setting a time? The German does indeed do exactly as the BAR driver has done, he peels back into the pits.
Ralf Schumacher is next out in the Toyota, his time wasn't as bad as his brother's so he may well go for a quick lap. He does indeed carry on around to begin a flying lap. It's a good smooth lap from the German who crosses the line at 3:22.717, which is his aggregate time.
Patrick Friesacher is next out and by the first split he's already 1.6s off the pace and a 2.6s down at the second. At the line his aggregate time is 3:28.363, he's 5.6s down on the German.
In all honesty, at this point we have to admit to being mystified, so god alone knows what the casual F1 viewer is going to make of this.
Albers should be out next but he appears to have a gear selection problem. The mechanics swarm over the car, and finally he gets away… only to be met by a red light at the end of the pitlane. He's missed the cut.
Fernando Alonso is next out, but it's unlikely that he'll be joining his teammate at the front of the grid. The Spaniard is pushing hard, even on his out lap. He's not going to get onto the front row, but someone's forgotten to tell him. At the second split he's 5.1s up on Ralf, finally crossing the line at 3:17.466.
Tiago Monteiro is next out. The Portuguese driver is having a difficult weekend thus far but at the first split he's only 0.6s down. Apparently he's suffering from flu - all that messing about in Moscow can't have helped. He posts 1:20.329, which puts him second - ahead of Ralf Schumacher.
Rubens Barrichello is next out. At the first split the Brazilian is 1.2s up on Alonso, the Ferrari star pushing hard. He loses ground in the second sector, finally crossing the line at 3:16.822.
Brazil GP winner Juan Pablo Montoya is on track in the McLaren. At the first split he's 1.2s up on the Ferrari driver. He maintains the gap through the second sector, finally crossing the line at 3:14.645. He takes provisional pole - however let's not carried away, there's still a massive deficit to Fisichella.
Teammate Kimi Raikkonen is next out. At the first split the Finn is 0.6s up on Montoya. He's still 0.6s quicker at the second split but then goes wide and runs across the grass. Somehow he holds it all together before almost losing it again a couple of corners later. At the line it's 3:15.558, which puts him second, albeit 0.913s down.
Narain Karthikeyan takes to the track in the Jordan. At the first split the Indian is 0.1s down on Montoya, but by the second split it's almost a second. At the line it's 3:17.092, which puts him fourth.
Last year's British hero, Jenson Button, is next out. At the first split the BAR star is 3.4s up on Montoya, while by the second he's 3.1s to the good. At the line it's 3:12.128 - however, he was 8s adrift of Fisichella, so this is nothing to get too excited about.
WilliamsF1 'new boy' Nick Heidfeld is on track. At the first split he's 2.2 up on Button, and 2.5s at the second. At the line it's 3:09.130, 3s quicker than Button. A typical clean lap from the German.
David Coulthard is 1.5s to the good at the first split and goes on to cross the line at 3:07.212. The Scot has never liked the single lap format, however, that wasn't too bad.
With five cars still to run we could give you the current order, but it wouldn't be worth it. Seriously.
Christian Klien is next out, the Red Bull driver is likely to take pole, but, as with all the previous runners, it means nothing, absolutely nothing.
At the first split the Austrian is 0.6s up on Coulthard - currently on pole - while at the second split he's only 0.3s up on the Scot. At the line it's 3:07.477, he can only manage 'second'.
Jacques Villeneuve takes to the track in the Sauber. At the first split the 1997 world champion is 0.9s up on Coulthard. At the end of the second sector he's 0.7s up, finally crossing the line at 3:06.846. Provisional pole!
Local hero Mark Webber is applauded by the crowd. At the first split he's 0.8s up on Villeneuve. At the second split he's 1.1s up on the Canadian. At the line the Australian posts 3:04.996. Provisional pole!
Toyota's Jarno Trulli is next out, the Italian getting out of shape at the second corner. At the first split he's 1.2s up on Webber, and 0.9s to the good at the second. He goes a little wide, but still completes the lap in 3:04.429. Provisional pole!
Last out is Giancarlo Fisichella, who, with a 2s advantage may just take pole position. At the first split he's 2.1s to the good. At the second split he's 2.5s up on his fellow-Italian, finally crossing the line at 3:01.460. Provisional pole!
We're not going to waste any more time on this than we need to. We thought that the aggregated qualifying format would be bad, but not this bad.
If long-time, diehard F1 fans, and journalists, found that confusing, god help man down the pub.
No disrespect to Giancarlo or anyone else, but that was a pile of crap.
Yes we do have a 'mixed up' grid, and yes we do have some of the very fastest drivers at the back. However, that was fluke down to the weather.
What we have witnessed here today however, is an unmitigated mess, with drivers opting use the rules to their advantage - which is their right - and fans being treated to a session which was dictated by meaningless numbers on a screen.
Rubbish.