The first Friday session of the 2005 Formula One season was nothing short of a mockery with the top drivers completing only a handful laps.
With each driver forced to use the same engine for two races, none were prepared to really push their cars early in the Australian Grand Prix weekend.
Fans that had paid good money to watch the event would have been left feeling bitter with the likes of Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren) and both Renault drivers electing not to record a time.
But with that aside, there was also a fairytale story in the opening practice session with Red Bull’s Viantonio Liuzzi recording the fastest time in the team’s first outing.
The young Italian recorded an impressive time of 1:25.967 to head home fellow Friday tester Pedro de la Rosa (McLaren) by over half a second.
In third place was another reserve ace in Toyota’s Ricardo Zonta. The Brazilian finished over a second off Liuzzi’s pace with a 1:27.265.
The battle proper started in fourth with McLaren’s Juan Pablo Montoya the fastest of the racing men.
Red Bull’s David Coulthard was fifth followed by Sauber’s Felipe Massa and Williams’ Mark Webber.
But with race-win favourites Renault without a result and the remainder of the field taking it easy, the opening practice times mean little in the context of the weekend.
PRACTICE SHORTS
* Minardi rookies Chritijan Albers and Patrick Friesacher could do nothing but watch their rivals drive by on Friday morning.
Ferrari’s Jean Todt refused to support Minardi’s bid to race last year’s car so the team were not permitted to take part in practice.
* Jordan’s first official outing with Toyota power could have gone a little smoother.
After just two laps smoke was seen bellowing from the back of Narain Karthikeyan’s EJ15.
Whilst working, the Japanese engine did little to move the Silverstone based squad up the grid.
Tiago Monteiro finished over six seconds off the ultimate pace and Karthikeyan was an astonishing 12 seconds off Liuzzi’s mark.
Written: Fri, 04 Mar 2005 01:09:42
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