Japan: Final qualifying session in full

By pitpass.com (10/10/2004)
October 10 2004

Air temperature is now 25 degrees C, while the track temperature is 24 degrees. Baumgartner is due to be first out, the Hungarian having spun off in pre-qualifying. However, he remains in his garage as the Minardi crew works on his car.

Therefore, teammate Gianmaria Bruni is first out. The Italian is running on intermediates, although it is not raining, and hasn't rained this morning, the track is still damp in patches. At the first split the Minardi driver posts 37.6, followed by a 47.9 at the second. He crosses the line at 1:48.069, considerably slower than his pre-qualifying time.

Juan Pablo Montoya is next out in the williamsF1, he's running on dry tyres.. At the first split he posts 33.8s, however he has a massive wobble shortly afterwards. That was big moment. At the second split it's 42.5, the FW26 kicking up a whole load of spray. He crosses the line at 1:37.653, provisional pole, and quickest lap so far today. Along the pitlane, drivers consider whether to follow Montoya's example and opt for dry tyres.

Timo Glock is next out in the Jordan. At the first split the German posts 35.1, going a little wide at Degner. At the second split it's 46.4, he's already well down on Montoya. At the line it's 1:45.533, 5.8s off Montoya's time.

Teammate Nick Heidfeld is next out. At the first split the German posts 35.0, followed by a 45.0 at the second. He's on intermediates and attempts to stay on the wet part of the track. At the line it's 1:41.923, he goes second.

Fernando Alonso is on track in the Renault. At the first split the Spaniard goes quickest, posting 33.6s. At the second split it's 42.1, he's quickest again. At the line it's 1:36.663, provisional pole for Fernando, 0.990s quicker than Montoya.

Christian Klien is next up. At the first split the young Austrian posts 34.2, which puts him third. At the second split the Jaguar driver posts 42.8s, followed by a 1:38.285, which puts him third.

Jacques Villeneuve is next out, the Canadian keen to help Renault overhaul BAR. The 1997 world champion didn't race here in 2003. He's quickest in the first sector, posting a 32.8s. He loses ground in the second sector, posting 42.6. He locks up at the chicane and has a major moment, but still manages to go quickest with 1:36.274. A great lap.

Felipe Massa is next out, in the Sauber. At the first split the Brazilian posts 34.3, however he gets it all wrong at Spoon, going very, very wide and running through the gravel. He aborts the lap.

Kimi Raikkonen takers to the track in the McLaren. At the first split the Finn posts 33.5, he's already off the pace. He looks ragged as he completes the second sector in 42.3, somehow he's made up some time. At the line it's 1:36.820, he goes third behind the two Renaults.

Next up is Jenson Button in the BAR. At the first split the Englishman posts 32.6, he's quickest by 0.2s. It's a neat lap, thus far, and at the second split Button posts 41.7, over a second quicker than Villeneuve. At the line it's 1:35.157, over a second quicker than the Canadian. A very impressive lap, quickest in all three sectors.

David Coulthard is next out. At the first split the Scot posts 33.1, which puts him in serious contention with the pace-setters. He loses ground in the second sector, which he completes in 42.5s. At the line it's 1:36.156, as he goes quickest in the final sector. Second spot for the Scot.

Rubens Barrichello takes to the track in the Ferrari, the Brazilian riding on the crest of a wave following back-to-back wins in Italy and China. At the first split it's 32.9, he's off the pace, but it's marginal. At the second split it's 42.1, however he gets it all wrong at the chicane losing a mass of time. At the line it's 1:38.637, which puts him eighth.

Giancarlo Fisichella is next out. At the first split the Italian posts 32.8, he's still very much in touch with the pace-setters. At the second split it's 42.2, he's still in touch. At the line it's 1:36.136, which puts him second. A very impressive lap for the Sauber driver.

The crowd erupts as Takuma Sato takes to the track. He goes quickest in the first sector, posting 32.1, almost half-a-second quicker than his teammate. He posts 42.0s at the second split but then gets it wrong at the entry to the chicane. Nonetheless, he's quickest at the line, crossing it at 1:34.897, that's 0.260s quicker than Button.

At the first sector, Olivier Panis posts 32.3, which is very, very close to the benchmark. He loses a lot of ground in the second sector, completing it in 42.8s. At the line it's 1:36.420, which puts him sixth.

Mark Webber is next out, in the Jaguar. At the first split the Australian posts 32.2, which is mighty impressive. At the second split, despite a lock-up at Spoon, he posts 42.0s. At the line it's an amazing 1:34.571, he goes quickest by 0.326. A tremendous effort by the WilliamsF1-bound driver.

Ralf Schumacher is on track in the WilliamsF1. The German goes quickest in the first sector, posting 31.8. At the second split it's 41.5, he's still quickest. At the line it's 1:34.032 - 0.539s quicker than Webber.

Brother Michael is next out. At the first split the Ferrari star posts 31.6, he's already 0.2s up on Ralf. At the second split it's 41.7, he's lost a little time. At the line the seven-time world champion posts 1:33.542, having gone quickest in the final sector. Provisional pole for the German, with just Jarno Trulli to run.

Can the Toyota new boy take pole at his team's home race? At the first split the Italian posts 32.5, it's not looking too good. He loses further ground in the second sector, going on to cross the line at 1:35.213, which puts him sixth.

Therefore, Michael Schumacher starts from pole for the eighth time this year. Second quickest is brother Ralf, ahead of Webber, Sato, Button, Trulli, Fisichella, Coulthard, Villeneuve and Panis.

Alonso is eleventh ahead of Raikkonen. Montoya, Klien, Barrichello, Heidfeld, Glock, Bruni, Baumgartner and Massa.

As ever the big question mark is strategy. We are expecting some rain before - and even during - the race. The cars now go to parc fermé for the next couple of hours, and the smart money says that several teams will have opted for very early pit-stops.

That said, we won't know for sure until it all gets underway in a couple of hours time.

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