|
With the sun
shinning the opening ninety minute Friday practice session for the 2009
Italian GP, at the Monza circuit would get underway. Giancarlo Fisichella
had being recruited from Force India to drive at Ferrari and his place was
taken by Vitantonio Liuzzi. There would be the usual rush of drivers taking
to the track for their installation lap, including both Kazuki Nakajima and
Nico Rosberg. Both Nico and Kazuki would complete two laps prior to
returning to their pits. Everyone except for Grosjean had completed their
installation laps. With fourteen minutes of the session completed Grosjean
would take to the track. Buemi and Alguersuari would also leave the pit lane
while Grosjean pitted.
 Buemi
would set the first time with a 1m:29.687. Alguersuari set a 1m:31.866 to be
second. Both drivers would improve with Buemi on a 1m:27.833 and Alguersuari
a 1m:30.203. With an hour and ten minutes left in the session only two
drivers had set a time. The kerbs had been changed at the first and second
chicane making it unlikely that the drivers would attack the kerbs like they
had in the past. Buemi was down to a 1m:26.490 and Alguersuari a 1m:28.180.
Webber and Hamilton were out on the track as Buemi and Alguersuari again
improved with a 1m:26.214 and a 1m:27.409. Buemi was still improving with a
1m:25.547.
Replays showed Hamilton attacking one of the new kerbs with the car bouncing
up in the air. Hamilton was second with a 1m:26.767 and Webber fourth,
1m:28.046. Hamilton would move to the top of the times with a 1m:25.410.
Webber sets a 1m:27.001 while both Buemi and Alguersuari had pitted.
Kovalainen was fifth, 1m:28.795, while Webber moved up to third with a
1m:26.187. Heidfeld and Fisichella had taken to the track. Hamilton was down
to a 1m:24.632 to remain fastest. Fisichella's first lap was a 1m:29.815,
while Kovalainen would improve from fifth to second, 1m:25.507. Heidfeld was
sixth, 1m:27.966, while Raikkonen, Kubica, Liuzzi had all taken to the
track.
Fisichella had improved with a 1m:28.393 but remained seventh. Both Kazuki
and Nico were out on the track while Kubica missed the first chicane.
Hamilton had pitted while Kovalainen set a time of 1m:25.133 to remain
second. Raikkonen and Kubica were in eighth and ninth. Heidfeld was now
fourth, 1m:25.953. Liuzzi was now ninth seeing Kubica in tenth. Fisichella
was seventh while Kazuki's first lap would see him in seventh but would drop
to ninth and
Nico was in eleventh, 1m:29.975. The track was getting very busy with
Heidfeld third from Buemi, Webber, Fisichella, Alguersuari, Raikkonen,
Kazuki, and Kubica in tenth. Nico was still in eleventh.
Glock was now thirteenth, 1m:28.269, followed by Trulli. Raikkonen had
improved to be fourth, 1m:25.508. Nico would set a 1m:26.886 to be eighth.
Kazuki was now eleventh, 1m:27.366. Kubica was now seventh, 1m:26.321, but
this became eighth and Nico moved into sixth with a 1m:25.889. Kubica was up
to seventh from Webber, Sutil, and Kazuki in tenth, 1m:26.473. Button was
now seventh, 1m:25.765, while Kazuki had dropped to twelfth. Raikkonen would
move the KERS Ferrari up to third quickest with a 1m:25.139. Button would
improve to
be second, 1m:25.126. Nico was now seventh and Kazuki tenth. So with forty
five minutes left in the session Hamilton was still fastest but Sutil was
now second from Button, Kovalainen, Raikkonen, Buemi, Heidfeld, Nico,
Kazuki, and Alguersuari in tenth.
Button would move back up to second, 1m:24.706. Hamilton would improve with
a 1m:24.147 to remain fastest. Alonso was now sixth, 1m:25.257, while Nico
was in seventh and Kazuki eighth. Kazuki would pit followed by Nico. while
Vettel had yet to set a time. Barrichello was now third, 1m:25.026. Nico was
now eighth and Kazuki tenth. Only a handful of drivers were out on the track
with thirty six minutes of the session remaining. Kovalainen was up to
third, 1m:24.791. Nico would return to the track while Kovalainen was back
up to second, 1m:24.332. Seventh placed Alonso was back out along with both
the BMW's. So we had the McLaren's first and second followed by Button,
Heidfeld, Barrichello, Sutil, Raikkonen, Alonso, Nico, and Buemi. Heidfeld
would improve with a 1m:24.683 to be third. Fisichella was down in
nineteenth. Kazuki was back out while Glock would spin at the first chicane
with the rear end of the car hitting the high kerb.
Alonso was now sixth, 1m:24.958, with twenty four minutes left in the
session. Sutil was now third, 1m:24.530, while Hamilton would miss the first
chicane going down the escape road. Alonso was now third, 1m:24.477. Nico
and Kazuki were still in ninth and eleventh. Buemi was now ninth seeing Nico
and Kazuki tenth and eleventh. Nico would pit with twenty minutes remaining
with Nico having completed twenty one laps and Kazuki twenty. Buemi would
improve
to be eighth, 1m:24.960. Hamilton would lower his quickest time with a
1m:23.936. Kovalainen was second from Alonso, Sutil, Heidfeld, Buemi,
Button, Raikkonen, Barrichello, and Nico in tenth. Kazuki had also pitted
still in eleventh.
Only two cars were out on the track with fifteen minutes remaining.
Fisichella was out on the softer tyre while Vettel had taken to the track
for the first time. Vettel would miss the first chicane while Nico was back
out with eleven minutes left in the session. Fisichella would improve to be
seventeenth while Vettel was slowest with a 1m:33.571. The track would get
busier with Fisichella moving up to twelfth, 1m:25.450. Both Nico and Kazuki
were back out with eight minutes left. Vettel would improve with a 1m:26.660
to remain slowest. Hamilton was still fastest from Kovalainen, Alonso,
Sutil, Heidfeld, Buemi, Button, Raikkonen, Barrichello, and Fisichella now
in tenth. Nico and Kazuki were now in twelfth and thirteenth.
Four minutes remaining and everyone was out on the track as Kubica moved up
to tenth, 1m:25.080. Nico was now tenth, 1m:24.927, while Kazuki had dropped
to fourteenth. The Toyota's of Trulli and Glock were slowest. Fisichella was
up to eighth, 1m:24.732. Nico had dropped down to thirteenth followed by
Kazuki in fourteenth. Webber was now ninth, 1m:24.759, as the session came
to an end. Nico would pit ending his session as Sutil moved into third,
1m:24.471. Not the most of encouraging of starts to the weekend for the
Williams team with both drivers outside the top ten. Are they having the
same issues with the car that
they had in Belgium? |
