Normal service was resumed during this morning’s first free practice at the Hungaroring, with Michael Schumacher topping the timesheets, heading a Ferrari 1-2.
The German took to the track some 35 minutes into the session and immediately launched himself into P1 with a 1MIN 21.552. Although he failed to improve on this time, he remained nearly four-tenths quicker than team-mate, Rubens Barrichello.
In a relatively quiet and trouble free session, which saw fine conditions and an air temperature of 26 degrees, Anthony Davidson continued his impressive Friday form by finishing third. The young Brit completed 24 laps, setting a time of 1MIN 21.951. He was, in fact, the only non-Ferrari driver to lap under the 1MIN 22 marker.
Although Kimi Raikkonen didn’t set a time until some 58 minutes into the session, the newlywed immediately set the fastest time in sector one. Nonetheless, having completed five laps, the Finn ended the session in fourth place, 1.472 adrift of the leading Ferrari. His team-mate, David Coulthard, who will be hoping to impress BAR this weekend, set a 1MIN 23.100 - good enough for fifth spot.
Juan-Pablo Montoya failed to make a huge impression in his revised Williams FW26, but the Colombian managed to set a time of 1MIN 23.753, putting him in sixth. Antonio Pizzonia, stand-in for the injured Ralf Schumacher, will be disappointed with his first outing; the Brazilian ended the one-hour in 16th place, albeit just six-tenths behind Montoya.
Olivier Panis did well in the heavily-revised Toyota to take seventh place, having peaked at third spot mid-way through the session. The team’s third driver, Ryan Briscoe, finished eighth, just ahead of Renault’s Jarno Trulli.
Jenson Button, currently in the midst of a tug-of-war battle between Williams and BAR, rounded off the top 10, having completed 14 laps, setting a time of 1MIN 24.140. Somewhat surprisingly, Takuma Sato in the sister BAR could only muster 19th place, 3.5 seconds off the overall pace.
Alonso and Fisichella took 11th and 12th place respectively in their Renault and Sauber, with Ricardo Zonta, who replaces Cristiano da Matta at Toyota, in 13th. The Brazilian set a time of 1MIN 24.236 - under half a second slower than team-mate, Panis.
Jaguar finished in 14th place with Birdheim behind the wheel. Christian Klein ended seven places further down, having put his R5 in the gravel trap during the closing minutes of the session. Mark Webber, although he completed a handful of installation laps, failed to set a time.
Meanwhile, the Jordans looked on relatively good form with Pantano in 15th, Heidfeld in 17th and Glock 18th, some three seconds off the pace. The Minardis bring up the rear with Baumgartner, Leinders and Bruni, averaging seven seconds off the pace.
Report by: Julie Gates
Written: Fri, 13 Aug 2004 10:36:23
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