Ralf loses ten places on the starting grid

Such a change, under the new rules, will see Ralf lose ten places on the starting grid. Team-mate Juan Pablo would finish the session in a lowly ninth. Ralf failed to complete a full timed lap in the opening practice session.

BMW Motorsport Director Dr Mario Theissen would comment on the failure by saying: "There was a defect on Ralf's car engine right at the beginning of the first Free Practice session, shown by telemetry data as well as oil samples. We need to strip it down to understand what the exact reason was. The engine is now being taken immediately to the factory in Munich and we expect to know by Friday the outcome of the analysis.

With Ralf's lose of ten grid positions his chances of repeating the teams 2003 victory have all but disappeared given the nature of the circuit with little opportunity for passing.