19/06/2004
NEWS STORY
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Ahead of today's pre-qualifying session, the ambient temperature is 23 degrees C, while the track temperature stands at 44 degrees.
As ever, in this first session the cars will go out in the same order in which they finished in the last race, which invariably means that Michael Schumacher is first out, followed by Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button. Ralf, Montoya, da Matta and Panis will be last out before Pantano, who of course didn't race in Canada.
At midday, Michael Schumacher drives out of the Ferrari garage. Having completed his out lap, the German begins his flying lap. At the first split it's 21.3, followed by 29.1 at the second. At the line the World Champion posts 1:10.129, to set the benchmark.
Rubens Barrichello begins his lap, the Brazilian has been looking very confident this weekend. At the first split it's 21.3, he's up on his teammate. He's quicker again at the second split, going on to cross the line at 1:09.454, taking provisional pole by 0.675s.
Third out is Jenson Button, the Englishman was quickest in the final free practice session. At the first split it's 21.6, he's already around 0.3s down on Barrichello. He loses more time in the second sector, finally crossing the line at 1:10.115, it's good enough to put him ahead of Schumacher, but he'll be disappointed with that.
Fourth out is Fisichella, the Italian seems to be on a roll at present. At the first split the Sauber driver posts 21.9, already over half-a-second off the pace. He's slightly quicker in the second sector, finally crossing the line at 1:10.997, which puts him fourth.
Kimi Raikkonen is next out. At the first split the Finn posts 22s, that's one of the slowest so far. At the second split it's 29.5, he's made up a little ground. At the line, the 2003 runner-up posts 1:11.415, which puts him fifth, 1.9s off the pace.
Teammate David Coulthard is next out. At the first split the Scot posts 22s, virtually the same as his teammate. At the second split the McLaren driver posts 29.1, he's losing even more time. At the line it's 1:11.068, he leapfrogs Raikkonen.
Nick Heidfeld is next out, he's the seventh to run but he only finished eighth in Canada. At the first split the German posts 22.4, followed by a 29.8s at the second. He crosses the line at 1:12.329, almost 3s off Barrichello's pace.
Christian Klien is next out, what can he do? His first sector isn't too bad he posts 22.1. At the second split it's 29.6, followed by a 1:11.777 at the line, he goes seventh or eight.
Zsolt Baumgartner is next, he's been looking good this weekend. At the first split it's 23.1, followed by a 30.7 at the second. At the line it's 1:14.396, a disappointing time from the Hungarian.
Now it's the turn of Felipe Massa, who crashed out of last week's race following a suspension failure. At the first split the Brazilian posts 22.1. He makes up ground in the second and posts 29.4, going on to complete the lap in 1:11.315, which puts him sixth ahead of Raikkonen. A good effort.
Now it's Massa's mate from yesterday (Friday), Takuma Sato. At the first split the Japanese driver posts 21.6, he's off the pace, but it's marginal. At the second split it's 28.6, it's still touch-and-go. At the line it's 1:10.002, he goes second to Barrichello, but by 0.548s.
The Renaults haven't been too impressive this weekend. Next out is Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard completes the first sector in 21.7, going on to complete the second in 28.7. At the line it's 1:10.078, he goes third, splitting the BARs.
Next out is Gianmaria Bruni, can he outpace his teammate? At the first split it's 23s, he's marginally up on Baumgartner. At the second split it's 30.3, he's still up on his teammate. At the line the Italian posts 1:13.776, to go twelfth.
Mark Webber is next out, he went off in this morning's final practice session. At the first split it's 22.1, he's already well off the pace. At the second split the Australian posts 29.4, going on to complete the lap in 1:11.444, which puts him tenth, one place ahead of his teammate.
Jarno Trulli is on track, can the Monaco GP winner out-pace his teammate? At the first split the Italian posts 21.8, he's off the pace, but not by too much. At the second split it's 28.9, he's made up a little ground. At the line the Renault driver posts 1:10.559, which puts him sixth, with five drivers still to run.
Ralf Schumacher is next out, he could be one to watch this weekend. At the first split the German posts 21.6, he's already 0.3s down on the Ferrari. At the second split it's 28.8, as he makes up a little ground. At the line the WilliamsF1 driver posts 1:10.003, which puts him third, not a bad effort.
Teammate Juan Pablo Montoya is next out. At the first split the Colombian posts 21.6, pretty much the same as his teammate. At the second split it's 28.7, he's still in touch with the leaders. At the line it's 1:09.824, as he goes quickest of all in the final sector. Juan Pablo goes second by 0.370s.
Cristiano da Matta is on track, both Toyota drivers looked good this morning. At the first split the Brazilian posts 21.6, followed by a 28.6 at the second, it's a good lap. He crosses the line at 1:10.108, which puts him sixth, ahead of Button and Michael.
Teammate Olivier Panis is next out, can he match Cristiano? At the first split it's 21.5, he's up on the Brazilian. He loses pace in the second sector, but it's still a respectable 28.8. At the line it's 1:09.923, the Frenchman goes third behind Barrichello and Montoya.
Last out is Canada absentee Giorgio Pantano. At the first split the Italian posts 22.2, followed by a 29.6 at the second. At the line he posts 1:12.017, which puts him seventeenth, and ahead of his teammate.
Therefore, at the end of the first session, it's Barrichello quickest, ahead of Montoya, Panis, Sato, Ralf, Alonso, da Matta, Button, Michael and Trulli. Fisichella was eleventh quickest, ahead of Coulthard, Massa, Raikkonen, Webber, Klien, Pantano, Heidfeld, Bruni and Baumgartner.
As Zsolt Baumgartner prepares to go out and get the main qualifying session underway, the ambient temperature is 24 degrees C, while the track temperature is 46 degrees.
Baumgartner exits the pits at 13:00 precisely, the session is on. The Hungarian posts 23.2 at the first split, followed by a 30.6 at the second. The Minardi driver is working hard, crossing the line at 1:14.812, which is the slowest he's been today. A poor lap from Zsolt.
Next out is his Minardi teammate Gianmaria Bruni. At the first split the Italian posts 22.9, he's 0.3s up on Zsolt. At the second split the Minardi driver posts 30.6, followed by a 1:14.010, he's 0.8s quicker than his teammate.
Next out is Nick Heidfeld in the Jordan. At the first split it's 22.7, followed by a 30.1 at the second. Judging by the flags, there's a strong wind blowing, which won't help matters. At the line it's 1:13.147, he goes quickest.
Nick's teammate Giorgio Pantano is the fourth driver to go out. At the first split the Italian posts 22.7, he's 0.2s down on Heidfeld. At the second split it's 30.2 as he continues to lose time. At the line it's 1:13.375, he goes second to Heidfeld by 0.228s.
Last out before the break is Christian Klien. He's quickest in the first sector, posting 22.2. He's quickest again in sector two, the Austrian posting 29.8 at the split. At the line it's 1:12.170, the Jaguar driver takes provisional pole.
At the break it's Klien ahead of Heidfeld, Pantano, Bruni and Baumgartner.
Next out is Mark Webber, who has a latest-spec engine in his Jaguar this weekend, can he outpace his teammate though? At the first split the Australian posts 22s, that's quickest so far. At the second split it's 29.3, he's quickest again, it's a very good lap, thus far. At the line it's 1:11.286, provisional pole, which quite rightly brings applause from his crew.
McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen is next out, the Finn was on pole here last year. He posts 22.1 at the first split, followed by a 29.2 at the second, quickest so far in that sector. At the line it's 1:11.137, as he goes quickest again in the final sector. Other than the first sector it was a pretty amazing lap.
At the first split Felipe Massa posts 22.5, as he locks up at a couple of corners, he's pushing far too hard. At the second split it's 30.3, he's lost a heap of time. At the line it's 1:12.721, good enough for fourth, but all-in-all a poor lap.
David Coulthard is next out can he out-pace his teammate? At the first split the Scot posts 22.2, he's only marginally off the pace. At the second split it's 29.8, as he loses a whole load of time, having locked up at turn eight. At the line it's 1:12.026, which puts him third.
Last out before the second break is Giancarlo Fisichella in the second Sauber. At the first split the Italian posts 22.5, which isn't too bad, and certainly up on his teammate. He's very aggressive, particularly at turn eight, completing the sector in 29.9. At the line it's 1:12.470, which puts him fourth, an excellent lap from 'Fisi'.
At the second break, it's Raikkonen ahead of Webber, Coulthard, Klien, Fisichella, Massa, Heidfeld, Pantano, Bruni and Baumgartner.
Jarno Trulli is next out, however it takes the combined efforts of several mechanics to get him going. There's clearly a problem, the Renault is crawling around the track, the gearbox sounds horrendous. The Italian perseveres and despite the initial problems is going to go for it. The car appears to be changing down by itself, how frustrating for the Renault driver.
Michael Schumacher is on track as Trulli appears to have a cat trapped in the car, that's how bad the Renault sounds.
At the first split Schumacher posts 21.4, he's quickest so far by almost 0.7s. At the second split the German posts 29.4, he lost a little time. At the line it's 1:10.400, he takes provisional pole by 0.737. It was an untidy lap, especially the second sector, but effective.
Jenson Button is on track, the BAR driver posting 21.7 at the first split, 0.3s down on Schumacher. At the second split it's 29.2, he's quickest so far in that sector. At the line it's 1:10.820, he seemed to lose time in the final sector. The Englishman goes second.
Cristiano da Matta is next out. At the first split the Brazilian posts 22.2, he's off the pace but looking good for a top ten qualifying position. At the second split it's 29.5, as the Toyota driver loses a little ground. At the line it's 1:11.691, he goes fifth, 1.291s off the pace.
Last out before the final break is Fernando Alonso. At the first split the Spaniard posts 22s, he's already 0.6s off the pace. At the second split the Renault driver posts 29.2, he's pulled back a little time. At the line it's 1:11.185, he goes fourth behind Raikkonen.
At the final break it's Michael ahead of Button, Raikkonen, Alonso, Webber, da Matta, Coulthard, Klien, Fisichella and Massa.
Montreal pole-man Ralf Schumacher is next out, can he repeat the feat here at Indianapolis.
At the first split the German posts 21.8, he's already 0.5s down on Michael, he's really having to fight the FW26. At the second split it's 29.5, he's made up a little time. At the line it's 1:11.106, he goes third ahead of Raikkonen.
All eyes on Takuma Sato, what can he do? At the first split the BAR driver posts 21.7, he's down on Michael but up on Button. At the second split the Japanese driver posts 29, he's up on Michael. At the line it's 1:10.601, he goes second to Michael by 0.201s. A great lap from Takuma.
Olivier Panis is next out, the Frenchman has been quite impressive this weekend. At the first split it's 21.9, followed by a 29.3 at the second, he's only marginally off the pace. At the line it's 1:11.167, which puts him sixth, 0.767s off the pace.
All eyes on Juan Pablo Montoya, can he do what Ralf couldn't? At the first split the Colombian posts 21.8, he's already 0.5s down on Schumacher (Michael). At the second split it's 29.3, he's made up a little time, but not enough. At the line it's 1:11.062, which puts him fourth.
Therefore there is only one man that can knock Michael off pole, his teammate Rubens Barrichello. At the first split the Ferrari driver posts 21.6, he's 0.2s down on Michael. At the second split it's 29, he's made up time. At the line it's 1:10.223, he takes pole position - his first since Japan 2003 - from his teammate by 0.177s.
The third Ferrari lock-out of the season, and interestingly the last time Rubens started from pole, he went on to win the race. Indeed other than this morning's second free-practice session, the Brazilian has been quickest in every session this weekend.
Behind the two Ferraris, we have the two BARs of Sato and Button, followed by the WilliamsF1s of Montoya and Ralf.
After that the grid symmetry ends, with Raikkonen seventh ahead of Panis, Alonso and Webber.
Eleventh quickest is da Matta who is followed by Coulthard, Klien, Fisichella, Massa, Heidfeld, Pantano, Bruni, Baumgartner and Trulli.
Thanks to the width of the track here, we should see a great race to the first corner, with cars running four or five abreast.
Trulli's problems in qualifying are clear proof that Renault still has problems, while the McLaren are still out of the picture.
The WilliamsF1 are up there and can hopefully build on Canada - but without the controversy - while hopefully the BARs will give the red cars a run for their money.
That said, it's more than likely that we'll be hearing Fratelli d'Italia tomorrow afternoon, thing is, will it be preceded by Das Lied der Deutschen or Hino Nacional Brasileiro?