Bahrain GP: Free practice 3
Jenson Button was the quickest man in Bahrain this morning, the Honda driver recording the best overall time of the one and only practice session here today. Michael Schumacher was second ahead of Fernando Alonso and Renault teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella. Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari and Jacques Villeneuve in the BMW Sauber rounded out the top six.
Yuji Ide was the first driver to set a timed lap here this morning, the Super Aguri driver in the low 1:40s after six laps of the Bahrain circuit. This was the final practice session of the weekend, the new format changed to just one solid hour instead of two forty five minute sessions. Track temperature was at 29 degrees however it was very dirty after strong winds in the area littered the track with sand, hence Ide’s extra slow time.
Several drivers begin to emerge, including BMW’s Jacques Villeneuve and Honda’s Jenson Button, with the hope that they can clear most of the sand away as they lap. They will need to get in as much work as possible as the next time they emerge after this session is for qualifying.
The track finally comes to life and times begin to tumble. Twenty five minutes in and Kimi Raikkonen seems no worse for wear as he puts his troubled MP4-21 at the top of the leaderboard. The Finn runs wide on his next lap and kicks more dirt up onto the track. Button comes through to take top spot, over half a second faster than the McLaren. Rumour has it that McLaren will need to de-tune their Mercedes engines by up to 35 bhp to ensure they don’t blow.
David Coulthard moves into second for Red Bull, the Scot putting in the fastest first sector. Alonso takes third but is soon knocked back to fourth by his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella, who slots into top spot. Next lap around and Alonso is second best, four tenths behind his teammate, but it is only temporary as Kimi Raikkonen takes the position for himself.
Michael Schumacher is up to fourth in the Ferrari while Mark Webber goes seventh for Williams. Alonso crosses the line for top spot only seconds before Jarno Trulli puts his Toyota just a tenth of a second behind the Renault. Times at the top continue to change as the track conditions improve, Raikkonen and then Michael Schumacher taking their turns at the top of the times. Felipe Massa emerges, the Brazilian recording the best first sector time, but his second sector is a little off, leaving him tenth after the fastest third sector as well.
Massa tries gain and this time he gets the second sector just right and records the best time of 1:32.826, almost a half a second faster than his Ferrari teammate. With ten minutes remaining, drivers returned to their respective garages before the final push.
Juan Pablo Montoya is not a happy man as he returns to the pits, shaking his head at the time he recorded, three seconds off the pace. The Colombian driver has been complaining that his car is not as powerful as Kimi Raikkonen’s and even asked for an engine change, but his request was denied.
With five minutes remaining, the track comes to life once again with almost everyone venturing back onto the circuit. Alonso moves instantly into the lead with the fastest sector times in two and three. Montoya jumps up to P11, but he is still two and half seconds off the pace. Button moves into second, but is soon pushed back to third when Michael Schumacher puts his Ferrari on top, a tenth up on Alonso. Button finishes his lap and takes top spot from Schumacher by a mere .011!
Big surprise has to be JV, well up there in the so far anonymous Sauber, equally surprising that Nick the blue eyed boy Heidfeld is so far behind. Little dissapointed in the Williams performance given how well Wurz went on Friday.
* I've been a McLaren boy for years.