Sunday Warm Up - Japanese GP

Michael Schumacher maintained his metronomic form by topping the times for Ferrari in the warm-up for the Japanese Grand Prix. Driving with all his usual control and speed, the five-times World Champion led the way with some ease ahead of his nearest rival and teammate Rubens Barrichello in the second red car.

The two McLarens filled the third and fourth places, Kimi Raikkonen narrowly outpacing David Coulthard, with Ralf Schumacher in his Williams taking fifth place and Jarno Trulli, for Renault, sixth. It was as expected, but the session was filled with incidents and enough entertainment to keep the fans alert.

Early in the session, as a hot sun began to rise in a cloudless sky, Takuma Sato's name was at the top of the list ahead of Mika Salo - a sight that was thrilling for Japanese eyes. But this Nippon-Toyota double delight was never expected to last and within minutes the familiar name of Michael Schumacher had been installed at the head of the leader board.

His lap time of 1:36.589 left him half a second clear of his younger brother Ralf, a predictable scenario. For those with sympathy for Saturday's accident victim, Allan McNish, there was joy in seeing the second Toyota driver back on the track and completing an early run of five laps under the looming spectacle of the big wheel and the roller coaster.

Giancarlo Fisichella, in the other Jordan-Honda, went off in a spinning cloud of dust and sand after 17 minutes and had to abandon his car, shortly after Olivier Panis, in his final race for the BAR-Honda team before switching to Toyota, had careered off and back on the track in a similar skirmish with fading grip and slippery conditions.

In keeping with his mood of stern Scottish confidence, the square-jawed David Coulthard clocked the second best time for the McLaren-Mercedes-Benz team midway through, a feat that split the two Schumachers. It did not last long, however. Rubens Barrichello soon made it an all-red top two for Ferrari by clocking the second best time just two-tenths off Schumacher's fastest, with eight minutes remaining.

In his efforts to improve his time and regain a higher position, Ralf Schumacher then ran wide and slid across the kerbs at the Degner Curve, managing to recover and continue, but presumably with some damage to his Williams.

His brother Michael, in the Ferrari 'fantasy' car, showed how to do it and trimmed his time to 1:36.249, with 15 laps completed, to lead his scarlet scuderia partner by four-tenths. Sato, finally, in a bid to improve from 12th, ran off through the gravel at the Spoon Curve, his frustrations showing and prompting a minor gasp in the swelling crowd.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:36.249 217.723 km/h 15 2. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:36.650 + 0.401 11 3. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:36.652 + 0.403 10 4. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:36.930 + 0.681 11 5. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1:37.167 + 0.918 11 6. Trulli Renault (M) 1:37.281 + 1.032 7 7. Massa Sauber Petronas (B) 1:37.533 + 1.284 10 8. Fisichella Jordan Honda (B) 1:37.601 + 1.352 7 9. Salo Toyota (M) 1:37.612 + 1.363 13 10. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 1:37.628 + 1.379 13 11. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 1:37.685 + 1.436 11 12. Sato Jordan Honda (B) 1:37.709 + 1.460 13 13. McNish Toyota (M) 1:37.734 + 1.485 10 14. Button Renault (M) 1:37.775 + 1.526 11 15. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1:38.226 + 1.977 8 16. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:38.284 + 2.035 9 17. Panis BAR Honda (B) 1:38.344 + 2.095 9 18. de la Rosa Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:38.358 + 2.109 9 19. Webber Minardi Asiatech (M) 1:39.208 + 2.959 12 20. Yoong Minardi Asiatech (M) 1:41.132 + 4.883 7 All Timing Unofficial