WilliamsF1 drivers 2nd & 4th on grid in Austria


Ralf second ...
By Andrew Hooper
May 11 2002

After qualifying for the Austrian GP BMW WilliamsF1 drivers are 2nd & 4th on grid, with Ralf faster than Juan Pablo. In a tense sesion it would be Rubens Barrichello who would secure pole.

   
Austrian GP Saturday Qualifying
 
For the BMW WilliamsF1 team qualifying for the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix would produce a somewhat expected result with the WilliamsF1 drivers both in the top four, with Ralf second and Juan Pablo fourth. In what was an intensely fought qualifying session Ralf at one stage held pole but was narrowly beaten by Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello. Montoya was able to set the fourth fastest time in the dying moments of qualifying after having problems with his regula car and having to switch to the backup.

Juan Pablo MontoyaQualifying would see the temperature at 22 degrees. Minardi's Mark Webber would be the first driver to take to the track after eleven minutes. Webber would set a 1m:13.794, which was slower than his morning time. Juan Pablo Montoya would go out early An early run but he would go back into the garage after only one single installation lap.

As the other drivers started to take to the track Jordan's Takuma Sato would set a more competitive time than the Minardi's, with a lap of 1m:10.841, 2.953 ahead of Webber. In the pits his Williams mechanics were working on Montoya's T-car, with something probably wrong with his race chassis.

BAR's Villeneuve continued to find the pace out of his BAR Honda and could only set a time of 1m:10.925 and is 0.084 behind Takuma Sato. WilliamsF1 driver Ralf Schumacher would take to the track and set a time of 1m:09.648, which would seem to be not good enough to challenge the Ferraris. McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen would set the fastest time, by 0.005 secs. His team-mate Coulthard would set a time of 1m:09.413 and take provisional pole by 0.230
secs.

The Toyota pair of Salo and McNish would take turns setting the fourth fastest time. Jordan's Fisichella would spin, but was able to get back on the track, and Sauber's Felipe Massa had to abort his first lap after a slight mistake. Sauber team-mate Heidfeld would go fourth with a 1m:09.7.

Renault driver Jarno Trulli would spin with a blown engine, rushing back to use the spare car. Arrows' Frentzen also spun in the final corner. Session stopped now because of oil placed on the Button's oil on the track. So after 30 minutes the order was Coulthard (1:09.413), Raikkonen (0.2), Ralf Schumacher (0.2), Heidfeld (0.3), Salo (0.3), McNish (0.6), Panis, Bernoldi, Sato, Irvine (1.4), Villeneuve, de la Rosa, Yoong, Webber (4.3). There weer no other timed laps. Michael Schumacher would not have done a flying lap.

Ralf Schumacher's reflectionThe track marshals would clean up the oil and as the pits lane reopens we would see both WilliamsF1 drivers on the track. We would see a new fastest lap by Ralf Schumacher with Ralf taking the lead from Coulthard by 0.059 secs. Montoya would go back into his garage after a lap with the T-car. Both Ferrari's would take to the track with Barrichello taking the lead with a time of 1m:08.676. Michael Schumacher's time was a 1m:08.859. Barrichello would put in another great lap, improving by another 4 tenths.

Massa would move up into fifth. With fifteen minutes remaining the order was Barrichello, Michael Schumacher (0.6), Ralf Schumacher (1.1), Coulthard (1.2), Massa (1.2), Raikkonen (1.4). After his problems Montoya would get out on his first flying lap setting a time of 1m:09.765 only good enough for tenth. With twelve minutes remaining the order was Barrichello, Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Coulthard, Massa, Raikkonen, Salo, Bernoldi, Heidfeld, Montoya, Button, Panis, McNish, Villeneuve, Sato, Frentzen, Fisichella, Irvine, Trulli, de la Rosa, Webber, Yoong.

Ralf's next lap would be a 1m:08.364 and he was behind by only 0.103 secs. Massa would set a time of 1:09.228 and move into fifth behind team-mate Heidfeld, putting both Saubers ahead of the McLaren's. Panis would move into seventh. Michael Schumacher would go back onto the track and his first sector was not good enough to see any improvement. Salo would go off into the gravel in the first corner and Montoya was now in seventh.

Michael Schumacher's would go out for his final in the spare car. He would be joined by Barrichello for his final run. So with three minutes to go Barrichello had set a superb 16.9 at T1, but he braked too late and lost the car at Remus corner. It was later determined that he had a Toyota cross his line. Michael Schumacher would improve to 1m:08.704, but would remain in third. Ralf's final lap would see him set a time of 1:08.411, no improvement.

In the dying moments and on his final flying lap Montoya would move into fourth with a lap of 1m:09.118. Despite his place on the grid Juan Pablo was still a second off the pole position time..

Driver Team (Tyres) Time Gap Laps

01. R Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:08.082 11
02. R Schumacher BMW.WilliamsF1 (M) 1:08.364 0.282 12
03. M Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:08.704 0.622 10
04. JP Montoya BMW.WilliamsF1 (M) 1:09.118 1.036 12
05. N Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:09.129 1.047 11
06. K Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:09.154 1.072 12
07. F Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:09.228 1.146 10
08. D Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:09.335 1.253 12
09. O Panis BAR-Honda (B) 1:09.561 1.479 12
10. M Salo Toyota (M) 1:09.661 1.579 11
11. Heinz H. Frentzen Arrows-Cosworth (B) 1:09.671 1.589 12
12. E Bernoldi Arrows-Cosworth (B) 1:09.723 1.641 12
13. J Button Renault (M) 1:09.780 1.698 11
14. A McNish Toyota (M) 1:09.818 1.736 12
15. G Fisichella Jordan-Honda (B) 1:09.901 1.819 12
16. J Trulli Renault (M) 1:09.980 1.898 10
17. J Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 1:10.051 1.969 12
18. T Sato Jordan-Honda (B) 1:10.058 1.976 12
19. P de la Rosa Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:10.533 2.451 12
20. E Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:10.741 2.659 10
21. M Webber Minardi-Asiatech (M) 1:10.388 2.306 11
22. A Yoong Minardi-Asiatech (M) 1:12.336 4.254 12
 
 
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