Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Qual 1: Barrichello fastest

Rubens Barrichello kept up the momentum of his bid for a home victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix by setting the fastest time in Saturday's pre-qualifying session, edging out Williams ace Juan Pablo Montoya by just 0.040 seconds

The Ferrari ace, who went out late in the session as a result of his crash with David Coulthard in Japan, put in a perfect lap to beat his Colombian rival. Sauber's Felipe Massa caused a surprise with the third quickest time.

World champion Michael Schumacher was able to take part in the session after switching to his spare car following his morning practice accident - but he could not match the pace of team-mate Barrichello. The German, who ended up fourth in the session, will be docked 10 places following final qualifying as a result of his engine change.

Brother Ralf was nearly half a second down on Barrichello and off the pace of team-mate Montoya, but he edged out the first BAR of Takuma Sato in sixth. The Japanese driver's team-mate, Jenson Button, could only manage the 11th quickest time, despite being just two tenths off the pace of Sato.

David Coulthard got the better of McLaren team-mate Kimi Raikkonen in what could be his final F1 qualifying session. The duo rounded out the top eight, while Renault pair Fernando Alonso and Jacques Villeneuve failed to shine down in 12th and 13th respectively.

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Schuey to drop 10 places
Next article Barrichello Quickest in First Qualifying - Brazilian GP

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe