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With Alex Wurz
setting the fastest time in Friday practice with a best lap of 1m:35.539 the
teams would start the final practice session for the 2006 Chinese Grand
Prix. Ferrari's Felipe Massa was forced to change his engine yesterday
seeing him face a ten grid position penalty.
 With
Overnight rain cleaning the circuit and leaving parts still wet the session
would be declared wet and the start of the session would see Torro Rosso's
Tonio Liuzzi coming out followed by Speed who was on full wets. It would
look like intermediate tyres would be the best choice early in the session.
Massa, Fisichella, Ralf Schumacher, Sato, Trulli, Yamamoto would take to the
track. Alonso would also head out as Liuzzi and Speed both pitted. Ralf
would sets the first timed lap of the session. Nico Rosberg would come out
for his first lap of the session.
Trulli would move into second from Nico in third. Button and Mark Webber
would also leave the pit lane, while Speed went fastest in his Toro Rosso.
But Button would move to the top of the times while Coulthard was now second
of Speed, Rosberg and Webber. The times were ten seconds off the best from
Friday. Speed would again move to the top of the times. Barrichello was now
in fifth, while Robert Doornbos moved into second.
After his installation lap Massa was to pit but he was now back out and
would move to the top of the times. McLaren's Pedro de la Rosa was out on
the circuit. The track was continuing to dry starting but not enough to make
dry tyres look the better option. With twenty minutes of the session run
Trulli was the only driver on track, but even he would pit.
Tiago Monteiro would heads out in his Spyker MF1 Toyota, joined by Doornbos
and Trulli with just thirty minutes of the session remaining. Coulthard
would also come out as his team-mate Doornbos would spin his Red Bull.
Coulthard would go fastest from Massa, Speed and Doornbos. Coulthard's time
was a 1m:45.253. Doornbos would move into second with a 1m:45.434.
Mark was in sixth with a 1m:47.109 while Nico was now in tenth. With
eighteen minutes remaining only Ralf and Liuzzi were on the circuit. Liuzzi
would move into sixth with a 1m:46.846. Ralf was down in twelfth. The order
was Coulthard from Doornbos, Massa, Speed, Button, Liuzzi, Mark, Albers,
Barrichello, Trulli and in eleventh Nico. Raikkonen, Michael Schumacher,
Heidfeld, and Kubica had yet to take to the track. Ralf was the first driver
to try dry weather tyres and he really seemed to be struggling, with his
times slower than those set on intermediates.
Now we had both Honda's come out with just twelve minutes remaining. Both
were on drys and Rubens would spin at Turn one. Now both Ferrari's were on
the circuit, Michael for the first time this session. Both Super Aguri
drivers would also leave the pit lane. Ralf would improve to now be in
fifth, 1m:46.023. With under ten minutes left the drivers need to get some
track time. Barrichello would pit, joined by Ralf. Massa would spin his car
coming out of the final turn. Yamamoto would move into eighth, 1m:46.850.
Nico was now back out on the track, joined by de la Rosa.
Michael was down in sixteenth but he would put in a quick lap that would see
him move into first with a time of 1m:43.048, to be 2.2 seconds ahead of
Coulthard. Both Alonso and Fisichella had also come out. Sato was now in
second, 1m:44.667, despite and error in the final corner. Button was now in
second, 1m:44.322. There was now a flood of drivers coming out, including
Mark, with just four minutes remaining. Sato would move back into second,
1m:43.722. Nico was now in fourth, 1m:44.636. De la Rosa was now third,
1m:43.910.
Mark was down in fifteenth as Michael improved his time with a 1m:41.259.
But Nico would put in a great lap to see him move into second with a
1m:42.588. But such were the conditions that the times were quickly coming
down. Albers was now second, 1m:42.216. Raikkonen would spin along with
Massa would would have a second spin. Kimi was able to get his car out of
the gravel. Mark was now in sixteenth. De la Rosa was now in second but
Fisichella would move ahead of the McLaren driver.
On the final laps Mark would move into third and Button was now second. Both
Liuzzi and Speed would move ahead of Mark and Alonso was now in second,
1m:40.365. Michael had improved his times ending with a 1m:40.193. So with
the end of the session the order was Michael from Alonso, Button, Liuzzi,
Speed, Mark, Albers, Fisichella, de la Rosa, and Coulthard in tenth. Nico
was now in eleventh. Neither Kubica or Raikkonen would set a time in the
session. Kubica would complete just one lap and Kimi just two.
Just how the
poor weather conditions will affect qualifying is an unknown but it could
turn out to be a factor that could produce an unusual grid fro the Chinese
Grand Prix. |
