Jenson fast in spain

[Bollocks#999]

Jenson Button has claimed top spot in the second of Fridays practice sessions with "third" driver Anthony Davidson second
Toyota's Ricardo Zonta finished third (these guys really desrve a race seat)
Ralf was 4th, Fernando Alonso 5th and the the 2 Ferrari's 6th and seventh respectively, Rubens ahead, Trulli, Kimi and Christiano Da Matta round out the top 10:


Friday second practice times from Barcelona

1 Button BAR 1m15.935s
2 Davidson BAR 1m16.188s
3 Zonta Toyota 1m16.360s
4 R.Schumacher Williams 1m16.433s
5 Alonso Renault 1m16.534s
6 Barrichello Ferrari 1m16.698s
7 M.Schumacher Ferrari 1m16.729s
8 Trulli Renault 1m16.734s
9 Raikkonen McLaren 1m16.798s
10 da Matta Toyota 1m16.833s
11 Panis Toyota 1m16.925s
12 Montoya Williams 1m17.067s
13 Coulthard McLaren 1m17.069s
14 Webber Jaguar 1m17.178s
15 Glock Jordan 1m17.608s
16 Wirdheim Jaguar 1m17.676s
17 Massa Sauber 1m17.906s
18 Sato BAR 1m17.970s
19 Fisichella Sauber 1m18.001s
20 Heidfeld Jordan 1m18.117s
21 Pantano Jordan 1m18.726s
22 Bruni Minardi 1m19.149s
23 Baumgartner Minardi 1m20.313s
24 Leinders Minardi 1m22.189s
25 Klien Jaguar no time

 

[Eagle]

You'll find that the third drivers push a lot harder than the regular drivers, as their machines only have to last the day, not the entire weekend. Hence they tend to produce better times than their teammates, but it's not always the case, a lot depends on the driver. Ricardo Zonta had a race seat for a while and did little with it.

Temperatures rose slightly in the afternoon which at Catalunya means lap times tend to slow. The wind was also a large factor, affecting aerodynamics down the main straight. Button's time is fast but still 3 tenths short of Michael Schumacher's ultimate pace in the first session.

Both Ferrari's had their setups sorted in the first session and spent the second working on tyre choices and testing heavy fuel loads for the race. So far it's a carbon copy of Malaysia.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Button went quickest in Practice 3, then (perhaps more signficantly), Sato went fastest in Pratice 4, getting under 1:15.0.

Eagle, I think it's a little harsh to say that Zonta "did little" with his race seat. He was hampered by a team in political disarray, and he had at least three massive, confidence-sapping shunts.

 

[Eagle]

Yeah that's true. I didn't mean to come off harsh about it, it's just there's a lot of people out there who potentially deserve a race seat and 20 of them that have one. Zonta has always had talent, it's obvious he does to reach the level he has. It's just all to easy to say that the 3rd drivers deserve a race seat - a lot of drivers deserve a race seat, including the ones sitting in it.

And Schumacher just set a 1'16.320 - first qualifying is under way

 

[DRIFT4EVA]

Hopefully we get to see another Spanish race where it's Alonso vs Schumi again but with some Button added in there too. That would be a great race

 

[Eagle]

Alonso hasn't quite had Schumacher's pace so far this weekend, but who knows, he's 13th atm. So far Williams own first qualifying with Sauber 2nd and 3rd. That HAS to be low fuel. Sato is the only threat left. Button is down below Schumacher in 10th. Panis and Webber are 6th and 7th, encouraging for them.

 

[Nasadus]

Well,guess who got pole again.That guy is really ripping it.I wonder where Button would have ended was it not for that one mistake.

 

[Eagle]

He lost about a second, maybe more there, but still wouldn't have been on the same pace as Michael I don't think. I don't know where that 7 tenths came from, whether it was fuel or what, but damn, that was one hell of a lap.

 

[Darin]

YAY! Micheal SHumacher is not up front! GO ALONSO!

 

[Nasadus]

Do i smell irony here.
Well,it promises to be an exiting start of the race seeing as Montoya is right next to M.Schumacher,he will be looking for revenge.

 

[DQuaN]

Originally posted by Darin
YAY! Micheal SHumacher is not up front! GO ALONSO!

Ummmm........yes he is.

 

[Eagle]

Montoya may very well get the jump on him, the Michelins work better cold, especially given how hard the compounds they're using are. He does have the dirty side of the circuit though. It's going to be a close turn one.

 

[scuderia229]

Originally posted by GTChamp2003
Well,guess who got pole again.That guy is really ripping it.I wonder where Button would have ended was it not for that one mistake.

Obviously he would have. He was on track to be about .2 under MS pole time, those damn Michelins.....

Congrats to my beloved Scuderia though, MS stamped his authority on the pole by .6...nice.

Glad to see Sato up there...

Tomorrow should be interesting.

Turn 1 could go one of two ways

1) MS and JPM go head to head into turn 1, MS with the advantage, JPM tries an aggressive move, doesn't work and MS is 3secs ahead by the end of lap 1.

OR

2) same as above but JPM's michelins are better on the opening 2 laps, he takes MS on the first corner and leads the first 2 laps by which time MS is right on his tail and either passes him or gets ahead of him with the first round of pitstops....

it is close...if it was anyone other than JPM I would go with option 1 but JPM is the only guy on the grid right now who would make an all or nothing move....

NOW....

Jenson has probably the fastest car on the grid....it will be interesting seeing him work his way up....

My prediction (given no mechanical failures)

1) MS
2) JPM
3) Button

though the race for second between JPM and button could get intersting.

 

[DRIFT4EVA]

Originally posted by scuderia229
Obviously he would have. He was on track to be about .2 under MS pole time, those damn Michelins.....

Congrats to my beloved Scuderia though, MS stamped his authority on the pole by .6...nice.

Glad to see Sato up there...

Tomorrow should be interesting.

Turn 1 could go one of two ways

1) MS and JPM go head to head into turn 1, MS with the advantage, JPM tries an aggressive move, doesn't work and MS is 3secs ahead by the end of lap 1.

OR

2) same as above but JPM's michelins are better on the opening 2 laps, he takes MS on the first corner and leads the first 2 laps by which time MS is right on his tail and either passes him or gets ahead of him with the first round of pitstops....

it is close...if it was anyone other than JPM I would go with option 1 but JPM is the only guy on the grid right now who would make an all or nothing move....

NOW....

Jenson has probably the fastest car on the grid....it will be interesting seeing him work his way up....

My prediction (given no mechanical failures)

1) MS
2) JPM
3) Button

though the race for second between JPM and button could get intersting.

Or.... MS gets a great jump. Takes the lead. At the first corner JPM says **** This and smashes straight into the back of the Ferrari. They Red Flag the race. MS gets to start in the Spare Car. JPM gets fired from Williams BMW. His contract gets ripped up. McLaren tells him to **** Off. Finally. FIA Officials tell JPM that he isn't allowed to race ever again. In the mean time MS is wins the race. The most important part is........ There won't be nearly as much whinning and moaning in Formula 1.

Go Schumi and Button. I don't like JPM

 

[Eagle]

lmfao. I'll take that scenario, provided Schumacher can restart and win and break Nigel Mansell's record.

JPM may very well get the jump or try something aggressive into turn 1, and who knows after Schumacher's efforts in Imola, he may try something not-so-legal. If he does he's just going to confirm all the **** people ever say about him. If he does take MS out though I'll certainly be turning the air blue in my lounge room.

Button is not going to recover from 14th. It wasn't Michelin's fault, it was his, he made a mistake. In race trim, I don't believe he has the fastest car - everything at Imola would have led you to believe the same and Schumacher was comfortably 1 second a lap faster a lot of the time. JPM may hold onto second, I see the Renaults making a rocket start, and Sato falling through the order ala Imola. Rubens may emerge for a podium depending on traffic and pitstops, if not, it'll be a Renault up there with them.

 

[Eagle]

*Spoiler alert*

What a race!

Who needs an exhaust anyway? Cracks mid race and Schumacher still wins comfortably. What the hell happened with Barrichello's tyres? Did he pit early/unexpectedly? But they were prepared, the ITV crew announced it...

Trulli's start was phenomenal as ever and his race pace was far better than I expected. Go Rubens for climbing to second, and a 1'16 yesterday with a 2 stop strategy. He looked a lot better today than he has since Melbourne. Montoya failed to inspire and roasted his brakes. Ralf Schumacher did little as well. Webber slid through the order, disappointingly, whilst McLaren once again finished together in a lacklustre 10th/11th. At least they finished this time. Sato held on for 5th which I didn't think he could do, Panis suffered hydraulic failure, disappointing for Toyota, Fisichella scored some more points for Sauber and his first of the season and Button managed to clamber back for a point in 8th despite not making an impression in the opening laps when it counted.

 

[scuderia229]

I found the race VERY boring, I had trouble watching the entire thing...and I am an AVID F1 fan....I work my schedule AROUND the F1 coverage...

Granted I don't enjoy Barcelona much, MotoGP bikes are much more fun to watch around it.....if the FIA dropped Barcelona (I know it would never happen) I wouldn't be sad...

Anyway...

My beloved Scuderia 1/2 I can't ask for better, I gotta hand it to Rubens for his drive and Ferrari for the Pit work.

I'm stunned Renault didn't have Truli pull over for Alonso at the end but Truili IS one of my fav drivers and my 2nd in Giles Fantasy F1 (so good for me...haha, I am in 7th or 8th right now)....

Sato drive well, his engine held and he looked smooth but not fast enough. Jenson....I thought he would come up the field faster but it is tough there. It wasn't a bad weekend by any means for BAR but not that great, it will be interesting now to see if they can show up to Monaco in full fighting form...we shall see.

 

[Eagle]

If the Renaults can ride the curbs nicely in Monaco, their lightning starts will stand them in good stead.

I thought it was more interesting than the other races so far this season, far closer. Barrichello got let down by a badly organised stop and poor second stint. Button recovered as best one could expect, Schumacher did no better at Suzuka last year. Montoya's 'catastrophic brake failure' was a surprise. Sato's engine didn't expire, thankfully. McLaren faded into the distance as badly as ever in 2004, Mark Webber did likewise. Sauber was a surprise. Trulli earned his podium, Renault wasn't about to take it away from him - I don't think the fans would have appreciated such tactics. They hate when Ferrari do it.