Ist days practice

Valve Bounce · 15 Mar 2002, 06:09 (Ref:235478)

The only revelation are the two Toyotas who are ahead of all 4 Honda powered cars.

Red · 15 Mar 2002, 06:39 (Ref:235489)

Oh man, those Macs were fast today.

Code:

[list=1][*] 4 RAIKKONEN	McLaren Mercedes 1'37"399	204.877 Km/h[*] 3 COULTHARD	McLaren Mercedes 1'38"038	+ 0'00"639[*] 1 M.SCHUMACHER	Ferrari		 1'38"490	+ 0'01"091[*] 5 R.SCHUMACHER	Williams BMW	 1'38"650	+ 0'01"251[*]24 SALO		Toyota		 1'39"066	+ 0'01"667[*] 6 MONTOYA	Williams BMW	 1'39"158	+ 0'01"759[*] 2 BARRICHELLO	Ferrari		 1'39"279	+ 0'01"880[*]15 BUTTON	Renault		 1'39"714	+ 0'02"315[*]14 TRULLI	Renault		 1'39"774	+ 0'02"375[*] 7 HEIDFELD	Sauber Petronas	 1'39"889	+ 0'02"490[*]25 MCNISH	Toyota		 1'39"982	+ 0'02"583[*]17 DE LA ROSA	Jaguar Cosworth	 1'40"147	+ 0'02"748[*]20 FRENTZEN	Arrows Cosworth	 1'40"576	+ 0'03"177[*] 9 FISICHELLA	Jordan 	Honda	 1'40"815	+ 0'03"416[*]21 BERNOLDI	Arrows Cosworth	 1'41"095	+ 0'03"696[*]10 SATO		Jordan Honda	 1'41"111	+ 0'03"712[*]11 VILLENEUVE	BAR Honda	 1'41"461	+ 0'04"062[*]12 PANIS	BAR Honda	 1'41"473	+ 0'04"074[*]22 YOONG	Minardi Asiatech 1'41"805	+ 0'04"406[*]16 IRVINE	Jaguar Cosworth	 1'41"857	+ 0'04"458[*] 8 MASSA	Sauber Petronas	 1'41"917	+ 0'04"518[*]23 WEBBER	Minardi Asiatech 1'44"583	+ 0'07"184[/list=1]

Valve Bounce · 15 Mar 2002, 07:12 (Ref:235496)

For something to compare these times with, last years pole time by MSch was 1'35.520" by MSch, and the fastest race lap was 1'40.962" by Mika.
Now if we see the more than 2 second improvement in Oz over last year, then we can deduce that there is a helluva lot of room for improvement in the times above.
The only puzzle to me was why Webber did not run in 2nd practice

, but I suppose F1-Live will have the details.

The Accomplice · 15 Mar 2002, 07:29 (Ref:235503)

His engine blew on his out lap.

StuiE · 15 Mar 2002, 07:29 (Ref:235504)

what happened to Webber? car died?
Yoong is right up there

Red · 15 Mar 2002, 07:37 (Ref:235508)

Definitelly it is room for improvement. However the times from free practice sessions were : 1'38"8 (Friday, Trulli) and 1'36"2(saturday, Barichello).

ljakse · 15 Mar 2002, 10:07 (Ref:235562)

This seems to be a good news for macs, but

Quote:

Team principal Ron Dennis added: "The problems we experienced in the first practice required us to shorten and vary our intended programme. In the circumstances the outcome is encouraging, but of course Friday's Free Practice has often little to do with the result of qualifying."

Besides, I wonder how come TGF made 36 laps compared to DC's 18, and stayed almost 0.5 second behind.

Glen · 15 Mar 2002, 10:15 (Ref:235570)

Very encouraging for Williams and especialy Mclaren. I don't think either of those teams would waste Friday on qualifying set-up, especially since overtaking is possible at Sepang - so it all looks pretty promising.

It's just possible that Ferrari are thinking of a harder tyre and going for one stop - the Bridgestones' consistency is their strongest feature - and are therefore testing heavy fuel (which they often do anyway).

Can't wait for Qualifying and the race!

f1grandprixshop · 15 Mar 2002, 10:25 (Ref:235576)

Dc behind Kimi....again??

ljakse · 15 Mar 2002, 10:37 (Ref:235582)

Quote:

Originally posted by f1grandprixshop
Dc behind Kimi....again??

Maybe we should all get used to it?
ASAP!?

f1manoz · 15 Mar 2002, 11:40 (Ref:235610)

IMO it's not too surprising of Kimi to be up front in practice. He is devilishly quick, and would be keen to get his name up top of any sheet possible.

However, it is strange to see TGF a full second behind both McLarens. Probably just sandbagging.

Salo in 5th is a major surprise. For some reason, I think Toyota themselves, and we the fans, may have underestimated them, considering they came in not expecting to be anywhere.

mjstallard · 15 Mar 2002, 11:41 (Ref:235612)

Apparently DC pushed his car for over a mile back to the pits in 37C temperatures. I wonder if that was his timed lap?

I reckon we will probably see a Ferrari 1-2 in qualies tommorow, this is all too reminiscent of last year. D'oh!

**Bononi** · 15 Mar 2002, 12:21 (Ref:235640)

From what RB spoke, it's sandbagging. He said that the team is pretty confident for the qualifying. So we can expect TGF in the top again. Just hope that the Macs and Williams challenge them more than they did in Melbourne.

Red · 15 Mar 2002, 12:30 (Ref:235645)

Both Bridgestone and Ferrari insisted on "heavy fuel load" and "harder tyre compound". Can we expect a 1-stop strategy, that perhaps meaning no pole-position? :confused:

calais · 15 Mar 2002, 12:44 (Ref:235655)

i cant see how a one stop strategy will be of any use if you're not starting from pole and the people in front of you are on the same strategy
the ferrari's fuel consumption is not the best, dont forget.

Red · 15 Mar 2002, 12:56 (Ref:235661)

They are able to mantain a reasonable pace, so they won't lose much time, and not many cars will be able to overtake them. A pit-stop costs somewhere between 32-40 secs (from 2000 season), so it could be a winning strategy. But there's the weather.... if it changes everything falls and somehow I can't see Ferrari making blunders. :confused:

It's long time since they fixed the fuel consumption problem... Maybe it's not the best but it's ok.

Valve Bounce · 15 Mar 2002, 13:09 (Ref:235669)

I think we cannot make too much of todays times. We don't know what fuel loads ferrari were carrying, nor Williams for that matter. I did read in the comments at F1-Live during practice that many cars were spinning as a result of an extremely slippery surface. Now the news is that a nearby peat fire has produced a pall of smog over the area but how this affects track temperature is unclear. Tomorrow's practice will give a clearer indication, but we can only really draw conclusions from quals. I predicted MSch will be on pole

. Maybe that will put the mockers on him.

Mania · 15 Mar 2002, 13:44 (Ref:235700)

Not many surprises in practice. I think Williams are looking strong - Mclaren have tended to dominate fridays in the past only to fall back in qualifying. I would be very surprised if both Mclarens qualify ahead of the Williams.

Im sticking with my prediction that Ralf will be on pole - although the weather report suggests there may be a thunderstorm during the day and if it happens during qualifying then it'll be a lottery.

BBKing · 15 Mar 2002, 14:37 (Ref:235720)

Yoong is faster than the 2nd best driver in the world.....LOL

Glen · 15 Mar 2002, 14:52 (Ref:235728)

Interesting that you say that, Mania. It's odd that the Mclarens are so well ahead of the field - there could be several explanations...

Mclaren could be wanting to stamp their authority on the news and therefore run light to get the Saturday times - but that's pretty unprofessional, especially with an all-new car and tyres for which they have no race data.

More likely that this a fair reflection of the performance of the Michelins and Williams are struggling to find a nice set-up. Williams have said as much themselves and I have no reason to doubt them.

The other possibility is strategy related - Williams could be considering one stop, and that could be what's costing them the time in the sweeping sections of the track. Overtaking opportunties are all straight-then-slow-corner, which would be to their advantage since they are quickest through the speed trap.

Or they could just be slower!

I reckon Ralf for qualifying, JPM for the race - probably with the Mclarens splitting things up. Clearly MS cannot ever be discounted, but Rubens is not looking so hot.

Glen · 15 Mar 2002, 15:07 (Ref:235737)

One thing I forgot about Williams - tyre scrubbing. They have more experience of this than Mclaren and may well feel that they can happily find a set-up without going flat-out, thereby preparing tyres at the same time.

Oh, one other thing - Toyota! Now, I wouldn't blme them for running light, since qualifying is their number one priority. If they know they will be out of the points, they may as well go for the publicity and use the race itself to gather data and try and finish.

BBKing · 15 Mar 2002, 15:14 (Ref:235739)

In the first session Schumacher set the pace in the first 4 laps. I think they don't want to waste their tires because they have the car and the tires to beat everyone. Lets faced Ferrari is way too superior at this point. Put my grandma in it and she will lap the entire field....LOL

Jonny Apex · 15 Mar 2002, 15:30 (Ref:235748)

Quote:

Originally posted by ljakse

Maybe we should all get used to it?
ASAP!?

Oh yes. Having watched him race these past three seasons in FRenault and F1 he is extra special - one of the best I've seen in going to racing week in week out for the past 25 years.

I had to laugh at one UK media outlet's headline today: "Encouraging Times For Coulthard" Maybe they just haven't learnt how to spell Raikkonen yet. I get the feeling they might just need to learn how to.

kuchi · 15 Mar 2002, 15:36 (Ref:235752)

I think today at qualifying it will be pretty much the same, well maybe Salo won't be in the top six. Then I guess ferrari were on full fuel tanks and the Macs were very light, so no one knows.

Mania · 15 Mar 2002, 16:50 (Ref:235778)

Quote:

Originally posted by Glen

Mclaren could be wanting to stamp their authority on the news and therefore run light to get the Saturday times - but that's pretty unprofessional, especially with an all-new car and tyres for which they have no race data.

More likely that this a fair reflection of the performance of the Michelins and Williams are struggling to find a nice set-up. Williams have said as much themselves and I have no reason to doubt them.

Last season, Coulthard topped friday times quite often and when it was time for qualifying both him and Hakkinen were busyt fighting for 4th, 5th or 6th position. Certainly, last seasons experience suggests Mclaren are not beyond running with light tanks to try and mess with the oppositions head.

I just have a hunch the two Williams will be quicker in qualifying today - I could be wrong offcourse but Im usually right.

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