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Severe weather warning in Melbourne

McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen was the man to emerge triumphant from the final session of practice for the Australian Grand Prix.

The day started with a wet track but as the weather cleared the action heated up and through the final ten minutes of the second 45-minute run the fight was fierce.

Ralf Schumacher was first to hit Albert Park on dry rubber and immediately went to the top of the timesheets. Jarno Trulli followed his team-mate’s lead before Renault bought Toyota down a peg through Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso.

But it was to be McLaren who had the final say with first Juan Pablo Montoya and then Raikkonen setting astonishing times on their final attempts.

The final order – which finished with Raikkonen on top from Alonso, Montoya, Fisichella and Jenson Button – created the foundations for a fascinating afternoon.

PRACTICE SHORTS

* Rookie on fire. Narain Karthikeyan’s practice session came to an early end when he span off the circuit at turn nine.

Jordan’s new recruit was under pressure from Kimi Raikkonen and lost control under brakes.

After recovering from the gravel, Karthikeyan bottomed out on the edge of the circuit before his car caught fire and his outing was over.

* Rugged up. Jacques Villeneuve looked for a little extra warmth as he headed out of the pit lane for his final run of the session.

The former world champion screamed out the Sauber garage with a tyre warmer still attached to his car.

* Reason for concern. BAR’s reliability was back in question after Takuma Sato stopped on track late in the final practice session.

The team said initial indications were that the problem was gearbox related and Jenson Button had been complaining about similar issues.

Written: Sat, 05 Mar 2005 00:16:43