Brazilian GP Free practice, Friday morning.
The high and low for Williams
"It was a case of being out at the right time on the right tyres," said Ralf Schumacher after he set the fastest time of the first practice session for the Brazilian Grand Prix which was run under gray skies and intermittent drizzle. Ralf Schumacher was one of only two drivers to try dry weather tyres at the very end of the session as conditions improved which put his Williams-Supertech at the head of the time sheets. His team-mate Alex Zanardi was at the opposite end of the time sheet after an engine sensor failed on his first lap out of the pits.
Michael Schumacher quickest on wet tyres
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Michael Schumacher took the third fastest time of the session and the fastest time on wet tyres only three seconds off the fastest time of the session. "I tried both the hard and soft wet weather tyres to try an compare performance, but the track conditions were changing every lap and it was hard to draw any conclusions,' said Michael. He had a problem half way through the session with one of his wheels which allowed the wheel nut to come loose forcing him to drive slowly back to the pits. Eddie Irvine was back in 18th place with the second Ferrari running just seven laps on soft tyres. "There wasn't a lot to be learned this morning," he said.
Fisichella second for Benetton
Giancarlo Fisichella was the only other driver to try dry tyres at the end of the session and quickly jumped into second spot behind the Williams. "I had a lot of understeer, but in te conditions, there wasn't much point trying to work on set- up ," he said. His team-mate Wurz stayed on rain tyres and was also well up in fifth spot.
Trulli fourth for Prost
Despite a spin which saw him brush the tyre barrier during the slippery session, Jarno Trulli returned to set the fourth fastest time of the session for Prost . Panis was sixth quickest, the Frenchman's only reaction to the session was that his car lacked traction.
Twenty laps for Diniz
Pedro Diniz ran a total of 20 laps for the Sauber team setting the seventh fastest time of the session before he spun off and stalled the engine. Jean Alesi ran only 13 laps, the Frenchman 17th fastest complaining that his car was weaving a lot in the wet.
Frentzen eighth on 'dry' set-up
Heinz Harald Frentzen set the fastest time for Jordan, eighth fastest overall despite running a dry set up on his car in case the conditions changed. Damon Hill was 12th fastest, the Englishman happy with the handling of his car, but delayed at the end by an oil leak which caused a minor fire.
In brief...
Rubens Barrichello spun off, but did no damage to his Stewart-Ford. The two McLarens were well down, both drivers running just 12 laps each with no trouble. "We thought it better to save our dry tyres for when it counts," said Team boss Ron Dennis.
Pos Driver Nat Team Time
1 R.Schumacher GER Williams Supertec 1:24.644 82.543 km/h
2 Fisichella ITA Benetton Playlife 1:26.386 + 01.742
3 M.Schumacher GER Ferrari 1:27.613 + 02.969
4 Trulli ITA Prost Peugeot 1:29.449 + 04.805
5 Wurz AUT Benetton Playlife 1:29.474 + 04.830
6 Panis FRA Prost Peugeot 1:30.094 + 05.450
7 Frentzen GER Jordan Mugen-Hond 1:30.623 + 05.979
8 Coulthard GBR McLaren Mercedes 1:31.015 + 06.371
9 Takagi JPN Arrows TWR 1:31.330 + 06.686
10 Herbert GBR Stewart Ford 1:31.909 + 07.265
11 Hill GBR Jordan Mugen-Hond 1:32.229 + 07.585
12 Barrichello BRA Stewart Ford 1:32.459 + 07.815
13 Zonta BRA BAR Supertec 1:32.509 + 07.865
14 Diniz BRA Sauber Petronas 1:32.690 + 08.046
15 Hakkinen FIN McLaren Mercedes 1:34.192 + 09.548
16 Sarrazin FRA Minardi Ford 1:34.271 + 09.627
17 Alesi FRA Sauber Petronas 1:34.869 + 10.225
18 Irvine GBR Ferrari 1:35.350 + 10.706
19 Villeneuve CAN BAR Supertec 1:36.568 + 11.924
20 de la Rosa SPN Arrows TWR 1:39.844 + 15.200
21 Gene SPN Minardi Ford 1:41.892 + 17.248
Weather: rainy, wet track.
All Time Unofficial