If there was any doubt as to who was favourite for pole position at the European Grand Prix, McLaren were quick to alleviate it on Saturday morning with a super showing in practice.
The British squad’s star driver, Kimi Raikkonen, stole Saturday’s second 45-minute run with a stunning time of 1:29.680 as the chequered flag fell.
Second was the Finn's team-mate, Juan Pablo Montoya, who finished just one tenth short with a 1:29.789.
Renault, who had so convincingly dominated the early rounds of the championship, had no answers to McLaren’s pace, Fernando Alonso forced to settle for third with a 1:29.987.
The second of the French racers finished fourth, with Giancarlo Fisichella recording a 1:30.071.
The remainder of the field were some distance off the leading pace with the fifth placed Toyota of Jarno Trulli almost a second off Montoya’s benchmark time.
BAR recovered, to some degree, as Takuma Sato (seventh) and Jenson Button (ninth) both recorded top ten times.
Ferrari, on the other hand, appeared to be struggling to find their competitive edge from Friday.
Michael Schumacher (10th) and Rubens Barrichello (11th) collectively amassed 24 laps but none were to challenge the times of the leaders with the best, by Schumacher, some 1.3 seconds off the pace.
Both Williams drivers spent long spells in the pit lane and completed the least laps of any man.
Nick Heidfeld recovered to set a strong time for sixth, but Mark Webber could only manage the 13th fastest result.
After the conclusion of all four practice sessions, it seems the fight for pole at the Nurburgring is between just two teams.
Strategy could play a more important role with the change to the qualifying system so it may not be the man with the fastest car who eventually finishes on top.
Written: Sat, 28 May 2005 09:12:22
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