WilliamsF1 makes slow start in 1st practice

By Andrew Hooper
June 21 2002


	European GP Friday 1st Practice

	The BMW WilliamsF1 team made their usual slow start in the opening Friday practice for the 2002 European Grand Prix. The session would see Montoya tenth and Ralf Schumacher fourteenth. Both drivers carried out their usual programme of tyre compound evaluations and set-up work for the race. The session was run in overcast conditions with the track temperature at 17 degrees centigrade, not the most favourable conditions for the Michelin supplied teams. At the end of the session only two of the top six were Michelin supplied drivers. The team have had to cope with the modifications to the track with a revised first corner and an extra 600m distance per lap. The modifications mean that teams will run downforce levels. As a result most drivers were out early examining the new track. At the end of the session it would be the Ferrari's of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello who would set the pace. By the end of the session it would be Barrichello who would set the fastest time. Barrichello set a 1m:33.665, which was one tenth quicker than Schumacher. Sauber's Nick Heidfeld was third with a 1m:34.924, followed by the Toyota of Allan McNish. In a strong showing for Sauber Felipe Massa, Heidfeld’s team-mate was fifth with a 1m:34.982. McLaren man David Coulthard was sixth, just ahead of Germany’s Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the Arrows and Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella. For McLaren team-mate Raikkonen he would suffer a a technical problem which would see him lose half the session. Arrows driver Enrique Bernoldi would spin when he hit a puddle at the Ford Kurve and crashed into the barrier with the side of his Arrows ending his running. Bernoldi would be joined by Takuma Sato's Jordan Honda when the EJ12 stopped out on the circuit. Mika Salo in the second Toyota was ninth, followed by BMW-Williams man Juan-Pablo Montoya with a 1:36.033 and BAR’s Olivier Panis. Renault’s Jarno Trulli finished twelfth, ahead of Sato, Ralf Schumacher, and Jenson Button in the second Renault R202. Kimi Raikkonen was seventeenth, ahead of Jacques Villeneuve, and Enrique Bernoldi. The Jaguars of Pedro de la Rosa and Eddie Irvine were nineteenth and twentieth. The Minardi's of Webber and Young were in the final two positions

	Driver Team (Tyres) Time Gap Laps 01. R Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:33.665 16 02. M Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:33.768 0.103 15 03. N Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:34.924 1.259 22 04. A McNish Toyota (M) 1:34.941 1.276 19 05. F Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:34.982 1.317 24 06. D Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:35.021 1.356 15 07. Heinz H. Frentzen Arrows-Cosworth (B) 1:35.880 2.215 18 08. G Fisichella Jordan-Honda (B) 1:35.921 2.256 15 09. M Salo Toyota (M) 1:35.958 2.293 16 10. JP Montoya BMW.WilliamsF1 (M) 1:36.033 2.368 20 11. O Panis BAR-Honda (B) 1:36.045 2.380 27 12. J Trulli Renault (M) 1:36.054 2.389 18 13. T Sato Jordan-Honda (B) 1:36.072 2.407 12 14. R Schumacher BMW.WilliamsF1 (M) 1:36.417 2.752 21 15. J Button Renault (M) 1:36.520 2.855 20 16. K Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:36.734 3.069 09 17. J Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 1:37.047 3.382 22 18. E Bernoldi Arrows-Cosworth (B) 1:37.186 3.521 12 19. P de la Rosa Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:37.329 3.664 24 20. E Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:37.849 4.184 20 21. M Webber Minardi-Asiatech (M) 1:37.921 4.256 16 22. A Yoong Minardi-Asiatech (M) 1:39.659 5.994 21