Star Lounge
Enthusiast Groups => Motorsports => Formula One => Topic started by: fasteddy on October 19, 2007, 10:44:26 AM
-
By Matt Beer Friday, October 19th 2007, 13:33 GMT
Kimi Raikkonen led a Ferrari one-two in the damp opening practice session at Interlagos, with Lewis Hamilton taking fifth and Fernando Alonso choosing not to participate.
Drizzle fell throughout the session, occasionally increasing to a heavier rain shower and ensuring that a dry line never appeared.
The title contenders sat out most of the morning, allowing Kazuki Nakajima, Jarno Trulli, Sebastian Vettel, Rubens Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher and Nico Rosberg to all take turns on top as the weather fluctuated.
The Ferraris eventually emerged in the final 15 minutes and swiftly moved into first and second. Felipe Massa was the faster of the pair initially, before Raikkonen moved ahead by half a second with his last lap.
Hamilton made two comparatively tentative runs near the end of the morning, eventually taking fifth position. But his McLaren teammate Alonso decided to limit himself to an installation lap, as did the BMW pair and Giancarlo Fisichella.
Heikki Kovalainen ultimately took third for Renault, 1.2 seconds off the pace and just ahead of Rosberg and Hamilton.
Schumacher was sixth despite a quick spin late on, with Vettel moving back up to seventh near the end having been pushed back into the midfield as others improved.
Mark Webber, Trulli and Vitantonio Liuzzi completed the top ten.
Despite the treacherous conditions, there were few incidents. Along with Schumacher's spin, Sakon Yamamoto also had a quick trip off the road, while Adrian Sutil explored the run-off at the Senna S on two consecutive laps during one of the harder showers.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:19.580 9
2. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:20.062 10
3. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:20.829 19
4. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:21.064 14
5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:21.121 10
6. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:21.243 22
7. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:21.598 22
8. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.104 12
9. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:22.104 26
10. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:22.250 17
11. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:22.434 23
12. Button Honda (B) 1:22.477 22
13. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.667 16
14. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:22.929 19
15. Sutil Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:23.248 30
16. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:23.261 26
17. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:23.551 20
18. Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:24.366 25
19. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1
20. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1
21. Alonso McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1
22. Fisichella Renault (B) 2
All timing unofficial
-
Hamilton investigated for tyre rule breach
By Jonathan Noble Friday, October 19th 2007, 15:56 GMT
World championship leader Lewis Hamilton is one of three drivers under investigation by the race stewards at the Brazilian Grand Prix for breaching the wet weather tyre rules.
McLaren's Hamilton, Honda's Jenson Button, and Super Aguri's Takuma Sato were deemed to have used two sets of wet weather tyres during the first free practice session at Interlagos, in breach of the Sporting Regulations.
Article 25.3 of the F1 Sporting Regulations states: "No driver may use more than one set of wet and one set of extreme weather tyres during P1 and P2."
The matter was brought to the race stewards' attention by FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer, and it is not clear at this stage whether or not the drivers involved will face any sanction.
All three drivers have been summoned to see the stewards individually following the end of the second practice session.
-
Hamilton tops practice 2 - Brazil
By Matt Beer Friday, October 19th 2007, 17:33 GMT
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton beat title rival Fernando Alonso to the fastest time in Friday afternoon practice at Interlagos.
Despite the looming prospect of a post-session visit to the stewards to find out if he will be penalised for using too many sets of wet tyres earlier on, Hamilton set the fastest time by 0.122 seconds when both McLarens tried the softer Bridgestones in the final minutes.
The Ferraris only managed third and fourth places.
After the rain that affected first practice, only a few damp areas remained when the second session began. A few drivers experimented with intermediate tyres initially, but once Mark Webber had gone quickest by 2.6 seconds on dry tyres, the rest of the field swiftly followed suit.
With track conditions improving all the time, the top spot quickly changed hands during the following half an hour. Alonso's early 1:16.081 benchmark did not last long before Hamilton embarked on a long run that eventually took him down to a 1:14.949 lap.
Felipe Massa then took a brief turn on top before Alonso reclaimed first place. The BMW drivers were next to lead the way when they tried the softer tyres, with Robert Kubica holding a six tenths of a second advantage over the rest of the field at the halfway point.
Alonso's first run on soft tyres was spoilt by traffic, but on the second attempt he produced a 1:13.239 and beat Kubica by 0.3 seconds.
That proved insufficient when Hamilton switched to softs five minutes later. The championship leader lapped in 1:12.767, half a second quicker than his teammate.
They were briefly split by Felipe Massa, before Alonso found more time on a new set of tyres and closed the gap to Hamilton to 0.122 seconds.
Kimi Raikkonen lost time on his soft tyre run when he locked up while trying to pass Hamilton. He could only manage fourth place.
Giancarlo Fisichella completed the top five for Renault, ahead of Kubica and the two Williams. Kazuki Nakajima had been as high as fourth during the session, before ending the day 0.009 seconds slower than teammate Nico Rosberg.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:12.767 27
2. Alonso McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:12.889 + 0.122 28
3. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:13.075 + 0.308 30
4. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:13.112 + 0.345 30
5. Fisichella Renault (B) 1:13.549 + 0.782 22
6. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:13.587 + 0.820 34
7. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:13.655 + 0.888 33
8. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:13.664 + 0.897 38
9. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:13.706 + 0.939 30
10. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:13.785 + 1.018 44
11. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:13.829 + 1.062 29
12. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:13.879 + 1.112 28
13. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:13.892 + 1.125 45
14. Button Honda (B) 1:14.095 + 1.328 44
15. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:14.152 + 1.385 33
16. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:14.179 + 1.412 25
17. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:14.409 + 1.642 37
18. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:14.431 + 1.664 27
19. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:14.477 + 1.710 31
20. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:14.543 + 1.776 35
21. Sutil Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:15.095 + 2.328 35
22. Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:15.715 + 2.948 32
All timing unofficial