Australia: Front row lock-out for Ferrari in Oz

Button's fast
By pitpass.com (06/03/2004)
March 7 2004

First out for today's two-part qualifying session is 2003 Japan GP winner Rubens Barrichello, who will be followed by Raikkonen, Coulthard and Button. Juan Pablo Montoya, who was an early retiree at Suzuka, is fifteenth out this afternoon, ahead of the five new boys.

It's warm but overcast as Rubens leaves the pitlane to get the session underway. Air temp 23, track temp 39.

The Brazilian is neat and tidy, worryingly the track is littered with leaves which could clog up the intakes as the weekend progresses. 1:25.992 is the benchmark, as Barrichello crosses the line.

Next out is 2003 World Championship runner-up Kimi Raikkonen. At the first split he's up on the Brazilian by almost half a second, he carries this through to the second split. At the line it's 1:25.592 for the Finn.

Teammate David Coulthard is next out, the Scot won here last year. At the first split he's up on Kimi, but it's marginal. At the second split he's still quicker, however he loses time in the final sector and can only manage second.

Jenson Button is next out, he's using the spare car after damaging his own in the second session. He's off the pace by 0.3s at the first split, and 0.2s at the second. 1:25.898 to go third, pushing Barrichello down to fourth.

Jarno Trulli takes to the track, much is expected of the Renault this year. At the first split 0.5s down on Coulthard, and 0.9s at the second split. Clearly we're already witnessing various strategies at work here. 1:22.357, sees the Italian go fifth.

At the first break it's Coulthard ahead of Raikkonen, Button, Barrichello and Trulli.

Next out is Takuma Sato, who of course finished sixth at Suzuka, the second time he's scored points in his home race. At the first split the BAR driver is 0.5s down on Coulthard, the gap widening to 0.8s at the second split. A 1:26.737 sees him go fifth. The Japanese driver was really fighting the car, great to watch.

Toyota's Cristiano da Matta is next out. He's over a second down on Coulthard at the first split, and 1.6s at the second. More strategy? At the line the Brazilian posts 1:28.274 to go seventh.

Next up is 2003 World Champion Michael Schumacher. At the first split the German is 0.052s up on Coulthard, at the second split he's 0.325s up on the Scot. Over the line the Ferrari driver registers 1:25.301 to go quickest by 0.29s.

Fellow German Nick Heidfeld is next out. He was last of the points scorers in Japan, at that time he was with Sauber, now he's a Jordan man. At the first split he's 0.6s down on Schumacher, by split two the gap is up to 1.4s. At the line the former F3000 champion posts 1:27.469 to go eighth out of nine.

Olivier Panis is on track, many say that this could be the Frenchman's last season in F1. The former Monaco GP winner is 0.6s off the pace at the first split and 1.26 at the second. At the line the Toyota driver clocks 1:27.253, which is good enough for seventh.

At the second break it's Schumacher ahead of Raikkonen, Coulthard, Button, Barrichello, Sato, Panis, Trulli, Heidfeld and da Matta.

Mark Webber is next on track, The Aussie one of the true stars of 2003, and indeed 2002 when he scored those magical two points for Minardi. At the first split the Jaguar driver is 0.4s down on Schumacher, while the gap has widened to 0.86 by the second. At the line it's 1:26.232, which puts him sixth.

The WilliamsF1 FW26 makes its 2004 qualifying debut, Ralf Schumacher at the wheel. At the first split he's 0.139s down on his brother, while at the second he's 0.262s down. At the line the German posts 1:25.445, just 0.14s slower than the Ferrari. He was quickest of the lot in the final sector.

At the first split Giancarlo Fisichella is 0.324s off the pace, while at the second he's 0.63s down. He's pushing hard but the car is clearly suffering serious understeer. At the line the Italian posts 1:26.286 to go eighth. A good lap.

Fernando Alonso takes to the track, the Spaniard being tipped as a possible winner this weekend. At the first split the Renault driver is a mere 0.080s down on Schumacher. At the second split he's lost time, he's now 0.49s down on the German. 1:25.928 sees the Spaniard go sixth.

Juan Pablo Montoya takes to the track in the second WilliamsF1. At the first split he's 0.060 faster than Schumacher. At the second split he's lost time, he's now 0.136s down on his great rival. He's pushing hard, crossing the line to go quickest by 0.075s, a brilliant final sector.

At the third break Montoya leads Michael, Ralf, Raikkonen, Coulthard, Button, Alonso, Barrichello, Webber and Fisichella.

Felipe Massa takes to the track, the Brazilian making a welcome return to the Sauber team that gave him his first F1 drive back in 2002. At the first split the former Ferrari tester is 0.666s down on Montoya, the gap widening to 0.983s by the second split. At the line he posts 1:26.833 to go twelfth.

Jaguar rookie Christian Klien is next up, the Austrian youngster well aware that the Ford-owned team isn't known for its patience with second drivers. By the second split he's 1.5s down on Montoya, crossing the line at 1:27.258 to go fourteenth.

Jordan's Giorgio Pantano takes to the track. At the first split he's 1.135s down on Montoya, the gap widening to 2.46s by the second. At the line it's 1:29.156, eighteenth for the Italian.

Gianmaria Bruni is next out, the Italian already 1.9s off the pace at the first split. He's pushing hard, possibly too hard, consequently he's 3.2s off the pace by split two. He crosses the line at 1:30.912 at the line, he's nineteenth, having lost a lot of time in the final sector.

Last out is Zsolt Baumgartner. At the first split the Hungarian is 3.1s off the pace. In just a couple of minutes he'll be back out again. He's 4.6s off the pace at the second split and a massive 7.3s at the line. He has a couple of massive lock ups as he tries to impress.

The Minardi returns to the pits to refuel and prepare for the second half of the session. This is exactly what Paul Stoddart was talking about last year, the Minardis, and indeed the Jordans are going to lose out badly under this new - quick turnaround - system, while Ferrari, McLaren and Williams will normally have around eighty minutes or more to work on their cars.

Temperatures now, 24 air and 39 track.

The timesheets are wiped clean, consequently Baumgartner will now set the benchmark for the main session, and indeed the grid. At the second split the Hungarian posts 54.340, while Gianmaria Bruni looks unlikely to be coming out in this session. 1:30.681 at the line, Zsolt has provisional pole.

Bruni has not come out and will therefore have to start from the back of the grid, a major shock to the Minardi team.

Therefore Giorgio Pantano is next out, the Italian keen to measure up to his teammate Nick Heidfeld. At the first split it's 30.052, the Italian is 0.2s up on Baumgartner. At the second split Pantano is 0.35s faster than the Hungarian, crossing the line at 1:30.140 to take provisional pole.

Cristiano da Matta is next out, the Brazilian had a poor lap in the first half of the session. He's 0.63s up on Pantano at the first split, and 1.1s up at the second. At the line the Brazilian clocks 1:27.823, which once again suggests that we're witnessing strategy at work.

Niock Heidfeld is last out before the break. At the first split he's 0.13 up on da Matta, though it's slipped to 0.023 at the second. At the line the German posts 1:28.178, he fails to beat da Matta's time.

da Matta is quickest ahead of Heidfeld, Pantano, Baumgartner and Bruni, who failed to post a time.

Jarno Trulli is next to go out, the Italian really needs to improve in this session. At the first split the Italian is 0.8s up on da Matta, as he pushed the Renault ever-harder. At the second split he's 1.045s up on the Brazilian, crossing the line at 1:26.290, to go quickest by 1.5s. A good lap, the Renault looking smooth as silk.

Christian Klien goes off on his out lap and subsequently aborts his lap and returns to the pits. It appears the Austrian had a problem with his steering, hence the off.

That means that Olivier Panis is next out but he too appears to have a problem. The mechanics work on his car in the pitlane, but the Frenchman fails to get out in time. Olivier is clearly angry at his failure to get out and post a time. The Frenchman suffered appalling reliability last year.

Next out, providing that he makes it, is Felipe Massa. At the first split the Brazilian is 0.5s down on Trulli, the gap widening to 0.603 by the second. At the line the Sauber driver posts 1:27.065 to go second.

Sato is next out, the Japanese driver 0.169s quicker than provisional pole man by the end of the second sector. At the line the BAR driver posts 1:25.851, to take pole by 0.4s. A brilliant lap from the Japanese youngster, and something for the much-hyped Button to live up to.

At the break it's Sato, Trulli, Massa, da Matta, Heidfeld, Pantano and Baumgartner.

Giancarlo Fisichella is next out, the Italian going across the grass at turn one as he pushes harder and harder, losing valuable time. At the second split he's 1.013s off the pace as the Sauber continues to understeer. At the line it's 1:27.845, good enough for fifth.

Mark Webber is on track, the Australian cheered on by the locals. At the first split he matches Sato's time exactly. At the second split he's 0.1 quicker than the Japanese driver. At the line it's 1:25.805, he takes provisional pole by 0.046s, much to the crowd's delight.

Rubens Barrichello is next out, he was first on track in the earlier part of the session. At the first split he's 0.441s faster than Webber, the F2004 looking very good. At the second split he's 0.606 up on the Jaguar driver. 1:24.482, that's 1.4s quicker than Webber, a stunningly fast lap from the Brazilian.

Fernando Alonso is next out in the Renault. The Spaniard uses all the track as he attempts t close the gap. He's 0.2s down on Barrichello at the first split and 0.514s at the second. At the line the 2003 Hungary GP winner clocks 1:25.699 to go second, albeit 1.217s off the pace of the Ferrari.

Last out before the break is Button. At the first split the Englishman is 0.22 of Barrichello's pace, the gap widening by split two where he's 0.32s down. 1:24.998, second place for the BAR driver.

At the final break it's Barrichello ahead of Button, Alonso, Webber, Sato, Trulli, Massa, da Matta, Fisichella and Heidfeld.

McLaren's David Coulthard takes to the track as the temperatures continue to rise, all eyes on the Scot. At the first split the 2003 Australian GP winner is 0.610s down on Barrichello. At the second split the gap is up to 1.060. At the final corner he gets it very wrong and is lucky to keep it out of the wall, team boss Ron Dennis is far from happy. In 2003, the Scot was one of the big losers under the new 'hot lap' format.

Teammate Kimi Raikkonen is next out. He's 0.4s down on Barrichello at the first split and 0.789s at the second. Looks like the MP4-19B (or whatever) will be happening sooner rather than later. 1:26.297 for the Finn who goes seventh. Not a good day for the Woking team.

Ralf Schumacher is next out. At the first split the German is 0.657 down on the Ferrari, while by the second split the gap has risen to 0.776. At the line it's 1:25.925, which is only good enough for sixth. Now that's a shock.

Six-time World Champion Michael Schumacher is next out. At the first split he's 0.066 up on his teammate, increasing the gap to 0.241s at the second. 1:24.408, the German takes pole by 0.074. Stunning.

The only man who can spoil Ferrari's party is Montoya, but can he do it? At the first split he's 0.001s down on his German nemesis. Fantastic stuff. At the second split he's lost time, the gap is 0.18s. He crosses the line at 1:224.998 to go third, giving Ferrari a lock-out on the front row.

Even though there is doubt over what sort of strategies many of the teams are running, the simple truth is that Ferrari is as strong as ever, as are its drivers.

A brave effort from Montoya, Webber and indeed Button, but a disaster for McLaren and Ralf Schumacher. Renault looks good as does BAR, while the Sauber seems a real handful.

Other than the first part of today's qualifying session, Michael Schumacher has been consistently quickest with Barrichello giving him a good run for his money. What remains to be seen is what strategies Ferrari's rivals are running and whether Bridgestone can really take the fight to its French rivals.

This article was written by pitpass.com and is used with permission.