Saturday Second Free Practice - Brazilian GP

Frenchman Olivier Panis surprisingly took top spot for Toyota in Saturday's final practice session ahead of qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Panis posted the best laptime of 1:13.457 late in the session as the Sao Paulo heat continued to improve the track conditions, denying World Champion Michael Schumacher top spot. Ferrari driver Schumacher was second quickest, almost nine-hundredths behind Panis, while Renault's Jarno Trulli claimed the third fastest time at Interlagos.

David Coulthard moved up to fourth in his McLaren after setting his best time late in the session, with Williams-BMW's Juan Pablo Montoya fifth and Kimi Raikkonen, of McLaren, sixth. Rubens Barrichello, quickest in the first session, could only go seventh fastest after marginally improving his time, while Mark Webber, of Jaguar, Williams-BMW's Ralf Schumacher and Renault driver Fernando Alonso completed the top ten.

Ralf Schumacher was involved in the first incident of the session after 10 minutes of running when he spun at turn 7 but was able to continue and return to the pits. Raikkonen then moved to top spot as he bettered Barrichello's time from the opening session by more than a tenth of a second. Michael Schumacher then lowered the mark along with Renault's Trulli.

Cristiano da Matta, competing at Interlagos for the first time since 1994, suffered a spin at turn 1 and was unable to keep his car on track as his session ended. Ralf Schumacher made the same mistake at turn 7 as he lost the back end of his Williams-BMW, but again got away with the error as he continued his lap in the final 10 minutes of the session.

Toyota's Panis then moved to the top of the times in the closing stages with a time nine hundredths quicker than Michael Schumacher. Jaguar driver Mark Webber, who went quickest in Friday qualifying, was then caught out at turn 7 as he was sent into a spin, and Sauber's Heinz-Harald Frentzen went off track at turn 10 in the final seconds.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Panis Toyota (M) 1:13.457 211.177 km/h 36 2. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:13.546 + 0.089 32 3. Trulli Renault (M) 1:13.621 + 0.164 30 4. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:13.893 + 0.436 33 5. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1:13.929 + 0.472 34 6. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:13.946 + 0.489 31 7. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:13.993 + 0.536 34 8. Webber Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:14.102 + 0.645 42 9. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1:14.192 + 0.735 35 10. Alonso Renault (M) 1:14.209 + 0.752 41 11. Fisichella Jordan Ford (B) 1:14.224 + 0.767 33 12. Button BAR Honda (B) 1:14.464 + 1.007 44 13. Pizzonia Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:14.511 + 1.054 42 14. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 1:14.523 + 1.066 43 15. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 1:14.744 + 1.287 35 16. da Matta Toyota (M) 1:14.819 + 1.362 37 17. Frentzen Sauber Petronas (B) 1:14.921 + 1.464 36 18. Firman Jordan Ford (B) 1:15.475 + 2.018 31 19. Verstappen Minardi Cosworth (B) 1:15.610 + 2.153 33 20. Wilson Minardi Cosworth (B) 1:16.067 + 2.610 25 All Timing Unofficial