Friday, April 25, 2008
# posted by Rich @ 2:56 PM
2008 Formula 1 Gran Premio De Espana Telefonica: Friday Practice 2
Kimi Raikkonen was again the fastest man on track in Friday Practice 2, but the story of the session was that the two Renaults were second and third fastest. However, it was rookie Nelsinho Piquet who was the faster of the two, beating his double world champion team mate and home favourite Fernando Alonso by some 13 1/1000ths of a second. It was a good session for the Williams cars as well - Nakajima was fourth fastest and Rosberg was seventh fastest. Meanwhile, Felipe Massa in the other Ferrari was 5th fastest, ahead of Mark Webber in the Red Bull machine. The top ten was rounded out by Coulthard, Fisichella, and Sutil. Indeed, the Force India cars had a strong performance - they topped the time sheet for almost all of the first 45 minutes of the session.
McLaren endured a less than stellar session - Hamilton could only manage 11th fastest (and complained of poor braking, which may have contributed to him having a spin at the turn 10 "La Caixa" hairpin), while Kovalainen had a technical problem and stopped by the side of the track after having completed only 8 laps. He would end the session 16th fastest. It was a tough session for the Hondas as well - after a strong showing in the morning session, Button and Barrichello would end 15th and 17th respectively.
Almost all the drivers completed over 30 laps - the only two who did not were Alonso and Kovalainen. At the end of the session there was rapturous applause and cheering for Alonso - his session was magnificent, and he put in some stunning displays of driving, including power slides and a lot of opposite lock through the final corner chicane. It was glorious to watch. The improvements to the Renault certainly seem to have worked, although the fuel loads that they were running on are unknown. Nevertheless, the Spanish crowd certainly have something to cheer about. Unfortunately, they also showed their displeasure at Lewis Hamilton. After he had a small off at turn 1 early in the session, the crowd cheered loudly. They also booed as he walked down the pit lane at the end of the session. It is unfortunate that the partisan Spanish crowd feel that way, but at least there wasn't a repeat of the disgraceful behaviour that was seen in pre-season testing.
So, Raikkonen looks like the man to beat this weekend. It seems like he has just that little bit extra speed than Massa - it must be his new shaven-head hair style...
Lap Times
McLaren endured a less than stellar session - Hamilton could only manage 11th fastest (and complained of poor braking, which may have contributed to him having a spin at the turn 10 "La Caixa" hairpin), while Kovalainen had a technical problem and stopped by the side of the track after having completed only 8 laps. He would end the session 16th fastest. It was a tough session for the Hondas as well - after a strong showing in the morning session, Button and Barrichello would end 15th and 17th respectively.
Almost all the drivers completed over 30 laps - the only two who did not were Alonso and Kovalainen. At the end of the session there was rapturous applause and cheering for Alonso - his session was magnificent, and he put in some stunning displays of driving, including power slides and a lot of opposite lock through the final corner chicane. It was glorious to watch. The improvements to the Renault certainly seem to have worked, although the fuel loads that they were running on are unknown. Nevertheless, the Spanish crowd certainly have something to cheer about. Unfortunately, they also showed their displeasure at Lewis Hamilton. After he had a small off at turn 1 early in the session, the crowd cheered loudly. They also booed as he walked down the pit lane at the end of the session. It is unfortunate that the partisan Spanish crowd feel that way, but at least there wasn't a repeat of the disgraceful behaviour that was seen in pre-season testing.
So, Raikkonen looks like the man to beat this weekend. It seems like he has just that little bit extra speed than Massa - it must be his new shaven-head hair style...
Lap Times
| Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference | Pos. | Driver | Time | Difference |
| 1. | Räikkönen | 1:21.935 | 12. | Kubica | 1:22.788 | + 0.853 | |
| 2. | Piquet | 1:22.019 | + 0.084 | 13. | Heidfeld | 1:23.130 | + 1.195 |
| 3. | Alonso | 1:22.032 | + 0.097 | 14. | Trulli | 1:23.224 | + 1.289 |
| 4. | Nakajima | 1:22.172 | + 0.237 | 15. | Button | 1:23.263 | + 1.328 |
| 5. | Massa | 1:22.229 | + 0.294 | 16. | Kovalainen | 1:23.264 | + 1.329 |
| 6. | Webber | 1:22.238 | + 0.303 | 17. | Barrichello | 1:23.415 | + 1.480 |
| 7. | Rosberg | 1:22.266 | + 0.331 | 18. | Vettel | 1:23.661 | + 1.726 |
| 8. | Coulthard | 1:22.289 | + 0.354 | 19. | Bourdais | 1:23.684 | + 1.749 |
| 9. | Fisichella | 1:22.383 | + 0.448 | 20. | Glock | 1:23.883 | + 1.948 |
| 10. | Sutil | 1:22.548 | + 0.613 | 21. | Sato | 1:25.110 | + 3.175 |
| 11. | Hamilton | 1:22.685 | + 0.750 | 22. | Davidson | 1:25.163 | + 3.228 |
Labels: Formula 1, Grand Prix, Spain
If the fonts on this page look blocky and naff, it's probably because you are using Internet Explorer, which currently does not display antialiased (cleartype) fonts consistently when alpha transparency is used. I suggest you upgrade to Safari, Camino, Opera, or Firefox. While you're at it, get a Mac.
