Free practice 3: Williams one-two

Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher jumped to the top of the times in the last minutes of the session to make it a Williams one-two in free practice 3 at Imola this morning (Saturday). The pair, along with third placed David Coulthard, used Michelin slicks on a drying track to deny the Bridgestone intermediate users a clean sweep of the top 10

Temperatures where higher and conditions all together better as the session kicked off although the track was still not dry enough for the drivers to risk slicks until near the end. In damper conditions the Bridgestone inters had a clear advantage.

Giancarlo Fisichella continued his strong form to set the early pace, but was supplanted at the head of the timesheets by Jacques Villeneuve. Normal order was restored when first Rubens Barrichello and then Michael Schumacher set the fastest time for Ferrari midway through the 45-minute session.

Although the track was considerably drier than yesterday, it was still pretty wet off line, and a number of drivers were caught out. Pedro de la Rosa put his Jaguar backwards into the gravel at Rivazza, and ended the session without setting a competitive time.

Fisichella (twice) and team-mate Takuma Sato both went off at Acque Minerali, the Italian stalling at the second attempt. Juan Pablo Montoya went straight on there on his first run on slicks, and Rubens Barrichello provided some light entertainment when he spun on the exit and continued to slip and slide around on the wet grass until eventually getting a helping hand from the marshals.

For full practice session 3 results, click here.