Struggle for WilliamsF1 after Imola practice


Ralf spins
By Andrew Hooper
April 24 2004

It would be somewhat of a struggle for the BMW WilliamsF1 after the final Imola practice, with Juan Pablo down in 5th. Ralf was down in 11th after spinning at Turn 12. The prospects for a good result in qualiying are not looking promising.

   
San Marino GP Saturday 4th Practice
 
As the teams prepare for the qualifying sessions the final Saturday practice would see both BMW WilliamsF1 drivers continue to struggle, setting times that were a considerable margin behind the lead times. This was with even warmer track conditions.

MontoyaBy the end of the session Juan Pablo continued to be in fifth but Ralf had dropped to eleventh. Juan Pablo would only set a time of 1m:20.975. Ralf would spin at turn 12, Variante Alta, but was able to continue. A few yards down the track he would hit a bird that was walking across the track.

The session would see Michael Schumacher continued to set the quickest times, again with BAR's Jenson Button in second. Michael would set a time of 1m:20.125, with Button 0.025 seconds behind.

Renault's Fernando Alonso was third but was 0.719 seconds adrift, while McLaren's David Coulthard, Juan Pablo and Rubens Barrichello completed the group of drivers to be within one second of Schumacher.

BAR's Takuma Sato was seventh, leading Renault's Jarno Trulli and McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen. Toyota's Cristiano da Matta completed the top-ten.

Minardi's Zsolt Baumgartner would crash his Minardi into the barriers at turn 11, minutes from the end of the session.
 
PP. No Driver Team - Engine Tyres Times Ave/Gaps Laps

1. 1 M. SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'20"125 221.639 Km/h 7
2. 9 BUTTON BAR Honda M 1'20"150 + 0'00"025 15
3. 8 ALONSO Renault M 1'20"844 + 0'00"719 13
4. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M 1'20"844 + 0'00"719 10
5. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M 1'20"975 + 0'00"850 7
6. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'20"996 + 0'00"871 10
7. 10 SATO BAR Honda M 1'21"159 + 0'01"034 14
8. 7 TRULLI Renault M 1'21"198 + 0'01"073 12
9. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'21"199 + 0'01"074 14
10. 16 DA MATTA Toyota M 1'21"257 + 0'01"132 13
11. 4 R. SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M 1'21"271 + 0'01"146 10
12. 17 PANIS Toyota M 1'21"296 + 0'01"171 12
13. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M 1'21"393 + 0'01"268 16
14. 11 FISICHELLA Sauber Petronas B 1'22"022 + 0'01"897 10
15. 12 MASSA Sauber Petronas B 1'22"077 + 0'01"952 8
16. 15 KLIEN Jaguar Cosworth M 1'23"222 + 0'03"097 8
17. 18 HEIDFELD Jordan Ford B 1'23"551 + 0'03"426 13
18. 19 PANTANO Jordan Ford B 1'24"736 + 0'04"611 7
19. 20 BRUNI Minardi Cosworth B 1'26"199 + 0'06"074 10
20. 21 BAUMGARTNER Minardi Cosworth B 1'27"451 + 0'07"326 13 
 
 
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