Brazil: Prequalifying lap by lap

By pitpass.com (23/10/2004)
October 23 2004

Michael Schumacher will lose ten grid places following today's qualifying sessions. The German will use his T-car plus T-car engine for qualifying, after crashing heavily at turn six at Interlagos.

Michael, who was completely unhurt in the accident, seemed surprised and puzzled afterwards, though teammate Rubens Barrichello suggested that the world champion's Ferrari had 'bottomed' prior to the German losing control.

Therefore, Schumacher, who, following his win in the Japanese Grand Prix, is first out, will use a completely unknown car.

As Michael prepares to come out and get the pre-qualifying session underway, the ambient temperature is 28 degrees C, while the track temperature is 41 degrees.

At 12:00 precisely, the German heads down the pitlane, the final back-to-back qualifying session of the 2004 season is underway. Having completed his out lap, the Ferrari star begins his flying lap, completing the first sector in 17.8s. At the second split it's 35.7, as he finally crosses the line at, 1:10.192 - a staggering time, when you consider he hasn't driven this car before.

His brother Ralf is next out, following his impressive performance in Japan. At the first split the WilliamsF1 driver posts 18.0s, followed by a 35.7s at the second. At the line it's 1:10.258, the WilliamsF1 driver missing out by 0.066.

Jenson Button is next out, he was one of a handful of drivers to break the 1:10s barrier this morning. At the first split it's 17.9s, followed by a 35.9 at the second. At the line it's 1:10.607, which puts the BAR star third.

Teammate Takuma Sato is next out, what can he do? The Japanese driver is fastest of all in the first sector, posting 17.8. He loses ground in the second sector, breaking the beam at 35.9. At the line it's 1:10.373, which puts him third, ahead of his teammate.

Renault has not looked impressive this weekend, next up is Fernando Alonso. At the first split the Spaniard posts 18.0s, followed by a 35.9 at the second. The 2003 Hungary GP winner crosses the line at 1:10.637, which puts him fifth, of five.

Kimi Raikkonen, like his teammate David Coulthard, has looked consistently good this weekend, he's next. At the first split the Finn posts 17.9, only marginally off the pace. At the second split it's 35.7, followed by a 1:10.440 at the line. The McLaren driver goes fourth.

Juan Pablo Montoya, who will partner Raikkonen next season, is next up. At the first split the Colombian posts 17.8, followed by a 35.5 at the second - he's fastest of the lot in that sector. At the line it's 1:09.862, a staggering lap, the first driver to break the 'magical' 1:9s barrier.

Giancarlo Fisichella is next. The Italian completes the first sector in 17.9s, only marginally off the pace. At the second split it's 35.7, followed by a 1:10.467, sixth for the Sauber star.

Teammate Felipe Massa is next up, next year he's joined by Jacques Villeneuve. He's quickest of all in the first sector, the local boy posting 17.6. He loses ground in the second sector (35.6), but it's marginal. At the line it's 1:09.930, he goes second, absolutely amazing.

Jacques Villeneuve is next out, he could do with some points this weekend. At the first split the Canadian posts 17.9, followed by a 36.1 at the second split. At the line the Renault driver posts 1:10.708, which puts him tenth, of ten.

Toyota's Jarno Trulli is next. At the first split the Italian posts 18.0s, followed by a 35.7s at the second. The former Renault driver crosses the line at 1:10.478, to go eighth, ahead of Button and the two Renaults.

Christian Klien is next out, the Austrian youngster is another driver without a contract for next season. At the first split it's 18.1s, followed by a 36.7s at the second. At the line the Jaguar driver posts 1:11.912, he's over 2s off the pace.

Nick Heidfeld is said to be in with a shot at the WilliamsF1 seat, what can he do now? At the first split the Jordan driver posts 18.1, which is around what Trulli and Alonso managed. At the second split it's 36.2, followed by a 1:11.394 at the line. The German goes twelfth.

His German teammate, Timo Glock, is next out. At the first split the Jordan driver posts 18.2s, followed by a 36.8s at the second. It's not a good lap, Glock looks very ragged, at the line he posts 1:12.242, which puts him fourteenth, last.

Gianmaria Bruni is next, he's the last of the Japanese GP finishers. At the first split it's 18.4, which puts him ahead of Glock. At the second split it's 37.4, followed by a 1:12.916 at the line. The Minardi simply hasn't got the required grunt.

Teammate Zsolt Baumgartner is next, he's posted some decent times this weekend. At the first split it's 18.5, he's already almost 0.2s down on Bruni. At the second split it's 37.3, followed by a 1:13.032 at the line.

David Coulthard has been impressive thus far, what can he produce now? At the first split it's 17.9, he's down on Montoya, but it's marginal. At the second split it's 35.8, followed by a 1:10.418 at the line. He goes sixth, ahead of his illustrious teammate.

Rubens Barrichello is next, the Brazilian hoping to shake off his Brazilian GP jinx this weekend. At the first split it's 17.7, he's only marginally off the pace. At the second split it's 35.5, as the local hero goes quickest. At the line the Ferrari driver posts 1:09.822, to take number one position - edging out Montoya by 0.040s.

Mark Webber is next, though the crowd is still applauding Barrichello's effort. At the first split the Australian posts 18.1, followed by a 36.1 at the second. At the line it's 1:11.230, which puts the WilliamsF1-bound driver fourteenth.

Last out is Ricardo Zonta, who didn't compete in Japan. At the first split the Brazilian posts 18.1, followed by a 36.4 at the second. At the line it's 1:11.315, which puts the Brazilian fifteenth, almost a second down on his teammate.

Therefore, at the end of pre-qualifying, the order is: Barrichello, Montoya, Massa, Michael, Ralf, Sato, Coulthard, Raikkonen, Fisichella and Trulli.

Button is eleventh, ahead of Alonso, Villeneuve, Webber, Zonta, Heidfeld, Klien, Glock, Bruni and Baumgartner.

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