Weather plays part in French GP Friday Qualifying

Both drivers had to complete their runs early in the session where the track conditions were still wet but they were to improve as the session went ahead seeing those running late in the session benefiting from a drier track. No doubt if the track is dry for Saturday qualifying do not expect to see the WilliamsF1 drivers so far down the grid.

With the BAR team been given the all-clear to race, they were able to compete in Friday's qualifying after their legal problems which saw their cars impounded by the French police.

Championship leader Michael Schumacher was the first out on track. The track was still damp from showers earlier this morning but was drying meaning that those who would run first were at a distinct disadvantage.
Michael would start the session with a benchmark time of 1m:27.929, one second slower than Mark Webber's morning time.

Next came McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen but he was not able to beat Michael's time and was 1.1 seconds slower, with a 1m:29.120. For Ralf he would take to the track next been third in the drivers championship. His lap would see him half a second slower than Michael in the first sector, and would finish in third with a 1m:29.327 some 1.3 seconds off the fastest time.

For team-mate Juan Pablo his lap would see him up in the first sector by a tenth of a second, but he would be slower in sector two and would finish in second with a 1m:28.988. For Renault's Fernando Alonso he would set a time of 1m:29.455, which would place him fifth so far. Rubens Barrichello was next out, with the conditions starting to warm benefiting those running later in the session. Rubens would match his team-mates first sector time of 27.7 seconds, set a a new fastest second sector, and would take provisional pole with a 1m:27.095, 0.834 sec ahead of Michael. David Coulthard was next and he would finish in third.

Renault's Jarno Trulli was next and he would set a time of 1m:29.024, 1.9 seconds off the pace, to move into fifth. Following the Italian was his fellow countryman Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella. He would move his Jordan to third place with 1m:28.502.

BAR's Jenson Button was next, taking to the track for the first time, setting a time of 1m:30.731, placing him tenth and 3.6 seconds off the pole time. Jaguar's Mark Webber was out and was quickly setting a quick time. he would set the fastest sector times of the day moving into position one with a lap of 1m:25.178, 1.9 seconds faster than Barrichello's Ferrari. Sauber's Heinz-Harald Frentzen would clock a 1m:26.151 to take a surprising second place but it would be a session of surprises.

Next was Toyota's Cristiano da Matta and he would benefit from the drier running, setting a time of 1m:26.975, which takes him to position three. For BAR's Jacques Villeneuve, like Button, he would take to the track for the first time and was on the pace setting a time of 1m:24.651 to take pole from Webber.

With the track conditions continuing to improve, Sauber's Nick Heidfeld would set the fastest times in the first two sectors, and he would take provisional pole with a time of 1m:24.042. The final group of Panis, Firman, Pizzonia, Verstappen and Wilson were left to run. Toyota's Olivier Panis would finish second with a time of 1m:24.175, just 0.133 off the pace. In an even bigger surprise Jordan's Ralph Firman would take pole with a time of 1m:23.496.

For Jaguar's Antonio Pizzonia he would finish in fourth with a time of 1m:24.642. He performance was far from respectable given the fact that he was running on far better conditions than those who went out at the beginning of the session. The final two drivers were Minardi's Jos Verstappen and Justin Wilson. Jos was first to go out and his time would see him at the top of the times with a lap of 1m:20.817 - 2.6 seconds faster than Firman. Wilson would go second, 0.151 slower than his team-mate.