Saturday Second Free Practice

Both Michael and Ralf Schumacher suffered problems on Saturday morning in final free practice for Sunday's United States Grand Prix, but Michael at least had the consolation of seeing his Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello topping the times.

On a welcome sunny day, after heavy overnight rain and further electrical storms, the Brazilian clocked a best time of 1:11.112 to edge out Italian Jarno Trulli at the top of the timesheets by 0.012 seconds.

It was a marginal advantage, but it reflected how close the competition is and will remain as the top teams and the three top drivers jostle for places in preparation for the penultimate race of the season.

Michael Schumacher sat out virtually the entire first 45-minute session after his Ferrari suffered a mechanical failure out on the track in the opening minutes. He took the opportunity to offer an unscheduled photo-call as he stood behind the barriers and advertising hoardings and watched his rivals in action on the infield section of the track laid out within the famous Indianapolis Speedway.

But in the second session, after some repairs to the gremlins were affected, Schumacher was back in action and he wound up third fastest behind Trulli, and ahead of his nearest title rival Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya's Williams-BMW.

If Ferrari needed a psychological fillip in the cold conditions, this was it and the sight of Ralf Schumacher leaving the circuit and abandoning his car at turn eight in the second practice session was a bonus. This meant the returning German's efforts to help Montoya were reduced.

As the air temperature slowly lifted from a chilly 14 degrees Celsius, and the track temperature from only 10 degrees, it was clear that the conditions were more favourable to Bridgestone than Michelin and that the circuit, still a little 'green' from the overnight downpour, was demanding.

Dane Nicolas Kiesa, in his Minardi and teammate Dutchman Jos Verstappen both went off and on again at turn one, Italian Giancarlo Fisichella spun off at turn nine in his Jordan and Fernando Alonso of Spain followed suit in his Renault before Ralf Schumacher reduced the Williams effort by half by abandoning his car.

With the sun rising, however, it looked increasingly more difficult to predict the outcome of Saturday's qualifying session. Warmer temperatures could favour the Michelin-clad teams, but no-one, on this evidence, knew how warm that had to be. After a cool start, Ferrari were looking warmer again.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:11.112 212.217 km/h 18 2. Trulli Renault (M) 1:11.124 + 0.012 23 3. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:11.139 + 0.027 16 4. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1:11.232 + 0.120 17 5. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:11.355 + 0.243 20 6. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:11.493 + 0.381 22 7. Panis Toyota (M) 1:11.758 + 0.646 21 8. Webber Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:11.800 + 0.688 27 9. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1:12.060 + 0.948 11 10. Alonso Renault (M) 1:12.135 + 1.023 18 11. Button BAR Honda (B) 1:12.186 + 1.074 23 12. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 1:12.380 + 1.268 22 13. da Matta Toyota (M) 1:12.671 + 1.559 15 14. Frentzen Sauber Petronas (B) 1:12.680 + 1.568 17 15. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 1:12.931 + 1.819 19 16. Wilson Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:13.275 + 2.163 27 17. Fisichella Jordan Ford (B) 1:13.458 + 2.346 15 18. Firman Jordan Ford (B) 1:13.749 + 2.637 20 19. Verstappen Minardi Cosworth (B) 1:14.335 + 3.223 12 20. Kiesa Minardi Cosworth (B) 1:14.781 + 3.669 20 All Timing Unofficial