Wurz fastest in practice 1 - China
Alex Wurz topped the times on a dull and dreary start to the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday morning
Grey skies and a sparse crowd greeted the drivers who took part in Friday morning's opening practice session for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit.
The dreary weather, humid and warm as well as overcast, seemed to hang heavily over the teams and there was no sign of any urgency to signal that this weekend's contest could prove decisive in the scrap for the world championship.
Both championship challengers, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher took no part in the session until the final minutues.
They both looked set to do preparation laps, leaving the battle for the top of the time sheet to Anthony Davidson in a Honda and Alex Wurz in a Williams, with the Austrian ending on top.
There were a few off-track excursions, contributed by Franck Montagny in his Super Aguri Honda, Wurz, Neel Jani in a Toro Rosso Cosworth, and Michael Ammermuller in his Red Bull Ferrari, but all regained the ashphalt.
Only in the closing minutes did the big names rise towards the top when Jenson Button clocked the third best time for Honda, ahead of Schumacher's Ferrari.
As if to brighten up the proceedings, Ferrari-bound Finn Kimi Raikkonen went out and spun his McLaren Mercedes at Turn 7, with only two minutes remaining, but he managed to regain control and complete his lap.
At the end, Wurz topped the times ahead of Davidson, Button and Schumacher, but there was nothing to be learned from the session that gave any clues to the outcome of the weekend or the championship.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Wurz Williams-Cosworth (B) 1:35.574 21 2. Davidson Honda (M) 1:35.591 + 0.017 26 3. Button Honda (M) 1:37.291 + 1.717 4 4. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:37.712 + 2.138 4 5. Jani Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M) 1:37.734 + 2.160 21 6. Premat Spyker MF1-Toyota (B) 1:37.787 + 2.213 24 7. Vettel BMW-Sauber (M) 1:37.913 + 2.339 24 8. Kubica BMW-Sauber (M) 1:38.062 + 2.488 6 9. Ammermuller Red Bull-Ferrari (M) 1:38.460 + 2.886 18 10. Montagny Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:38.464 + 2.890 19 11. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M) 1:39.000 + 3.426 6 12. Barrichello Honda (M) 1:39.217 + 3.643 4 13. Speed Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M) 1:39.428 + 3.854 7 14. Albers Spyker MF1-Toyota (B) 1:39.494 + 3.920 6 15. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:39.887 + 4.313 8 16. Monteiro Spyker MF1-Toyota (B) 1:39.947 + 4.373 7 17. Yamamoto Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:41.415 + 5.841 10 18. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:45.890 + 10.316 4 19. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (M) No time 1 20. Trulli Toyota (B) No time 2 21. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) No time 2 22. Coulthard Red Bull-Ferrari (M) No time 1 23. Doornbos Red Bull-Ferrari (M) No time 2 24. Alonso Renault (M) No time 25. Fisichella Renault (M) No time 26. de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes (M) No time 27. Massa Ferrari (B) No time 28. Webber Williams-Cosworth (B) No time 29. Rosberg Williams-Cosworth (B) No time All timing unofficial
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