Saturday First Free Practice - French GP
Spaniard Fernando Alonso took the early initiative on Saturday morning as he topped the times in the day's first practice session for the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours.
Spaniard Fernando Alonso took the early initiative on Saturday morning as he topped the times in the day's first practice session for the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours.
Renault driver Alonso was quickest with a lap time of 1:16.076 as he outpaced Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello by one-tenth of a second.
Ralf Schumacher, of the Williams-BMW team, claimed the third fastest time ahead of world champion brother Michael, who was 0.419 seconds down on Alonso in fourth.
Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya and McLaren-Mercedes driver David Coulthard took fifth and sixth respectively with Kimi Raikkonen seventh in the second McLaren.
Toyota pair Cristiano Da Matta and Olivier Panis both earned places in the top-ten as they finished eighth and 10th with Renault driver Jarno Trulli sandwiched in between them.
BAR-Honda drivers Jenson Button and Jacques Villeneuve completed their first practice session as they ended 13th and 14th in the times after being barred from taking to the track on Friday.
Jaguar's Antonio Pizzonia left the track in a largely incident free session, while Button parked his car by the side of the track at the end of the 45-minute practice with a smoking engine.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Alonso Renault (M) 1:16.076 208.733 km/h 24 2. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:16.190 + 0.114 19 3. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1:16.291 + 0.215 20 4. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:16.495 + 0.419 15 5. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1:16.687 + 0.611 21 6. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:16.840 + 0.764 19 7. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:17.050 + 0.974 13 8. da Matta Toyota (M) 1:17.118 + 1.042 25 9. Trulli Renault (M) 1:17.123 + 1.047 14 10. Panis Toyota (M) 1:17.186 + 1.110 18 11. Webber Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:17.197 + 1.121 21 12. Button BAR Honda (B) 1:17.341 + 1.265 22 13. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 1:17.452 + 1.376 20 14. Pizzonia Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:17.959 + 1.883 16 15. Frentzen Sauber Petronas (B) 1:18.295 + 2.219 15 16. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 1:18.455 + 2.379 13 17. Fisichella Jordan Ford (B) 1:18.749 + 2.673 14 18. Firman Jordan Ford (B) 1:18.876 + 2.800 17 19. Verstappen Minardi Cosworth (B) 1:19.089 + 3.013 21 20. Wilson Minardi Cosworth (B) 1:19.948 + 3.872 17 All Timing Unofficial
Stoddart Believes Radical Steps are Good for F1
Stoddart Believes Radical Steps are Good for F1 Stoddart Believes Radical Steps are Good for F1
Barrichello Quickest in First Qualifying - Brazilian GP
Barrichello Quickest in First Qualifying - Brazilian GP Barrichello Quickest in First Qualifying - Brazilian GP
Saturday First Free Practice - Brazilian GP
Saturday First Free Practice - Brazilian GP Saturday First Free Practice - Brazilian GP
Sargeant handed penalty for third car rules breach ahead of F1 Japanese GP
Sargeant handed penalty for third car rules breach ahead of F1 Japanese GP Sargeant handed penalty for third car rules breach ahead of F1 Japanese GP
Live: F1 Japanese GP updates
Live: F1 Japanese GP updates Live: F1 Japanese GP updates
Hamilton: Lack of rear downforce leaves W14 on "knife-edge" at Suzuka
Hamilton: Lack of rear downforce leaves W14 on "knife-edge" at Suzuka Hamilton: Lack of rear downforce leaves W14 on "knife-edge" at Suzuka
BTCC Silverstone: Rookie Doble takes shock pole
BTCC Silverstone: Rookie Doble takes shock pole BTCC Silverstone: Rookie Doble takes shock pole
How Tsunoda has eliminated a crucial F1 limitation
How Tsunoda has eliminated a crucial F1 limitation How Tsunoda has eliminated a crucial F1 limitation
How McLaren has revamped its F1 team to become a contender again
How McLaren has revamped its F1 team to become a contender again How McLaren has revamped its F1 team to become a contender again
Why precedent doesn’t favour Massa’s F1 legal challenge
Why precedent doesn’t favour Massa’s F1 legal challenge Why precedent doesn’t favour Massa’s F1 legal challenge
Why Sainz’s Singapore F1 success was not just about DRS genius
Why Sainz’s Singapore F1 success was not just about DRS genius Why Sainz’s Singapore F1 success was not just about DRS genius
The signs that suggest an immediate Red Bull resurgence in F1's Japanese GP
The signs that suggest an immediate Red Bull resurgence in F1's Japanese GP The signs that suggest an immediate Red Bull resurgence in F1's Japanese GP
The lessons Russell can take from his "two-centimetre" Singapore F1 mistake
The lessons Russell can take from his "two-centimetre" Singapore F1 mistake The lessons Russell can take from his "two-centimetre" Singapore F1 mistake
Singapore Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023
Singapore Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023 Singapore Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023
The Singapore secrets that helped Sainz end Verstappen's F1 winning streak
The Singapore secrets that helped Sainz end Verstappen's F1 winning streak The Singapore secrets that helped Sainz end Verstappen's F1 winning streak
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.