Saturday First Free Practice - Japanese GP
Championship contender Kimi Raikkonen received a blow to his preparations for this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix title showdown on Saturday morning when he crashed in practice at Suzuka.
Championship contender Kimi Raikkonen received a blow to his preparations for this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix title showdown on Saturday morning when he crashed in practice at Suzuka.
Finn Raikkonen could only watch from the sidelines as his title rival Michael Schumacher benefited from the cool temperatures to finish second behind his brother Ralf Schumacher in the Williams-BMW.
It was a rare mistake from Raikkonen, which saw him lose control of his McLaren-Mercedes as he headed into the second corner 25 minutes into the session and slide off across the grass into the tyre barriers.
His car was damaged, with the front left suspension crumpled after its impact with the barrier, and he was forced to walk back to the pits and wait for his team to collect his car and repair it.
Raikkonen's teammate David Coulthard compounded McLaren's miseries by only setting the ninth fastest lap time as their Williams and Ferrari rivals claimed the top four spots.
Brazilian Rubens Barrichello finished third in the second Ferrari with Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya fourth fastest in the second Williams-BMW, German Nick Heidfeld fifth for Sauber and Brazilian Cristiano da Matta sixth in his Toyota.
Briton Justin Wilson, driving to secure his seat at Jaguar for 2004, finished seventh fastest, half a second faster than his 15th placed teammate Mark Webber, who completed 20 laps.
Briton Jenson Button finished eighth as his new BAR-Honda teammate Takuma Sato ended down in 14th place after a problem left him able to complete just eight laps. Italian Jarno Trulli completed the top ten.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1:32.931 224.954 km/h 15 2. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:32.989 + 0.058 14 3. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:33.350 + 0.419 15 4. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1:33.405 + 0.474 13 5. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 1:33.749 + 0.818 19 6. da Matta Toyota (M) 1:33.963 + 1.032 19 7. Wilson Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:34.119 + 1.188 17 8. Button BAR Honda (B) 1:34.171 + 1.240 18 9. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:34.309 + 1.378 15 10. Trulli Renault (M) 1:34.349 + 1.418 13 11. Alonso Renault (M) 1:34.398 + 1.467 15 12. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:34.523 + 1.592 7 13. Panis Toyota (M) 1:34.541 + 1.610 14 14. Sato BAR Honda (B) 1:34.554 + 1.623 8 15. Webber Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:34.599 + 1.668 20 16. Frentzen Sauber Petronas (B) 1:34.718 + 1.787 13 17. Firman Jordan Ford (B) 1:36.368 + 3.437 13 18. Fisichella Jordan Ford (B) 1:36.705 + 3.774 10 19. Verstappen Minardi Cosworth (B) 1:36.928 + 3.997 13 20. Kiesa Minardi Cosworth (B) 1:38.075 + 5.144 14 All Timing Unofficial
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