Glock fastest in final practice - Italy
Timo Glock set the fastest time in the final practice session at Monza this morning as the drivers again found themselves in a losing battle against bad weather
Heavy rain prevented anyone from getting any meaningful track time, but Glock managed to string a few laps together early in the session to produce a best time of 1:35.785.
Sebastien Vettel came the closest to matching Glock with a 1:36.129, but shortly after he set his best time the conditions deteriorated and all of the cars returned to the garage in the hope that the rain would lighten off.
It was already wet when the session began, but Rubens Barrichello opted to stay out and was the first to record a flying lap, his Honda setting an early benchmark at 1:40.484. Glock immediately went quicker and within two laps had set the time that would stand for the rest of the session.
With just under half an hour remaining there were still a few drivers who were yet to complete a lap, notably the two McLaren and Toro Rosso's Sebastien Bourdais, whilst Kimi Raikkonen had managed just flyer that was six seconds off the pace.
Bourdais was one of the first to attempt to brave the worsening downpour, along with Nico Rosberg and Nick Heidfeld, but the conditions - and perhaps fears of burning through their allocation of wet tyres - quickly forced them back into the pits.
With just 10 minutes to go Lewis Hamilton went back out and finally cracked the timesheets, but the fact that he was 15 seconds shy of Glock's time was an indication of how difficult the conditions had become.
Hamilton did improve his time a little, but it was clear that the conditions were not going to lend themselves to heroics and as the final minutes ticked away the drivers appeared to be simply trying to get a handle on where the standing water was ahead of this afternoon's qualifying session.
As a result, the final chequered flag fell with the unusual sight of Kimi Raikkonen, Heikki Kovalainen and Hamilton sitting at the very bottom of the timing screens - and with so many of the drivers having done so little running, there is plenty of scope for a surprise in qualifying.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Glock Toyota (B) 1:35.464 16 2. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:36.129 + 0.665 11 3. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:36.347 + 0.883 13 4. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:36.686 + 1.222 9 5. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:36.706 + 1.242 10 6. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:36.972 + 1.508 12 7. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:37.015 + 1.551 7 8. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:37.263 + 1.799 6 9. Alonso Renault (B) 1:37.270 + 1.806 10 10. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:37.285 + 1.821 9 11. Sutil Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:37.504 + 2.040 11 12. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:37.671 + 2.207 7 13. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:37.778 + 2.314 8 14. Piquet Renault (B) 1:37.833 + 2.369 9 15. Button Honda (B) 1:37.882 + 2.418 11 16. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:38.689 + 3.225 8 17. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:39.319 + 3.855 8 18. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:41.164 + 5.700 3 19. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:42.683 + 7.219 6 20. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:46.325 + 10.861 8 All timing unofficial
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