By pitpass.com (29/05/2004)
May 29 2004

Ahead of the first part of today's qualifying session for the European Grand Prix, the ambient temperature is 18 degrees C, while track temperature is 37 degrees. First out today is Monaco winner Jarno Trulli, who will be followed by Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello, Juan Pablo Montoya and Felipe Massa. Last out is Christian Klien, who is preceded by Giancarlo Fisichella.

At 13:00 precisely, the blue and yellow Renault of Jarno Trulli heads off down the pitlane. At the first split the Italian posts 29.4, followed by a 37.4 at the second. At the line the 'speechless' Trulli posts 1:29.905, to set the benchmark.

Jenson is next out in the BAR, many are predicting that the Englishman could score his first F1 win this weekend. At the first split the Englishman posts 29.1, he's up on Trulli. He's quicker again in the second sector, over a second up on the Italian. At the line it's 1:28.816, a pretty amazing lap from the BAR driver.

Rubens Barrichello was lucky to get on the podium in Monaco, he really needs to raise his game this weekend. At the first split the Brazilian posts a 29.2, losing ground to Button. At the second split it's 36.8 as he goes quickest. Over the line the Ferrari driver posts 1:29.014, down on Button by 0.198.

Juan Pablo Montoya didn't post a time in the second free practice session this morning, yet he's adamant that he's happy with his set-up. At the first split he posts 29.2, followed by a 36.9 at the second. The WilliamsF1 driver goes third with a 1:29.092, 0.276s off Button's pace.

Felipe Massa, like his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella, is having a difficult weekend. At the first split the Brazilian posts 30.2s, followed by a 38.1 at the second, as he loses a heap of time. The Sauber looks nervous as Felipe crosses the line to post 1:31.879, that's more than 3s off the pace.

Cristiano da Matta was labelled pathetic by Jenson Button last weekend, what can he do now? At the first split the Brazilian posts 29.2, which he follows with a 37.2 at the second. At the line the Toyota driver posts 1:29.272, to go fourth of six.

Jordan is having a miserable weekend thus far, Nick Heidfeld takes to the track in front of his 'home' crowd. At the first split the German posts 30, which puts him marginally ahead of Massa. At the second split it's 38.8, as he continues to lose ground. Over the line the Jordan driver posts 1:32.216, 3.4s off the pace. Not bad considering.

Last of the Monaco point scorers, Olivier Panis, is next. At the first split the Frenchman posts 29.3, only marginally off the front runners' pace. At the second split it's 37, which puts him ahead of his teammate. At the line it's 1:29.243, as the Toyota driver goes fourth.

Zsolt Baumgartner is slowly improving, can he continue the process today? At the first split the Hungarian posts 30.6, which he follows with a 38.9 in the second, only slightly slower than Heidfeld. At the line it's 1:33.061, for the Minardi driver, who like his teammate will be moved back ten spots on the grid… which will put him in race control.

Ralf Schumacher is next out, he retired with a gearbox problem last week. At the first split the German posts 29.3, he's down on Button, but it's not much. In the second sector he goes quickest, posting a 36.8. At the line it's 1:28.655, the WilliamsF1 driver goes quickest by 0.161.

Brother Michael is next out, the German looked good this morning. It's 29.1 at the first split, he's down, but only just. He's quickest in the second sector, posting a 36.6. At the line the Ferrari driver posts 1:28.278, to go quickest by 0.377. A superb lap from the German.

Next out is Fernando Alonso, who of course came to grief in the 'tunnel of offs' last weekend. At the first split the Spaniard posts 29.2, he's marginally off the pace. At the second split it's 37s, as he loses even more ground to the Ferrari. Over the line, the Renault driver posts 1:29.069 to go fifth, splitting Barrichello and Montoya.

Kimi Raikkonen has been looking good so far this weekend, let's see if he, and the McLaren, can deliver when it matters. At the first split it's 29.1, which is promising. At the second split it's 36.9, he's around 0.3s down on Schumacher. At the line the Finn posts 1:28.897 to go fourth, splitting Button and Barrichello.

Gianmaria Bruni is another driver - like Baumgartner and Fisichella - who forfeits ten grid spots this weekend. At the first split it's 30.3 followed by a 39.0. The Italian crosses the line in 1:33.077, once again he's outpaced by his Hungarian teammate.

Giorgio Pantano appears to have retained his seat for the remainder of the season, what better time to demonstrate what he's capable of. At the first split the Italian posts 29.9, which is pretty good, under the circumstances. At the second split it's 38.6 as he loses a load of time. At the line the Jordan driver posts 1:31.928, which puts him ahead of his German teammate.

Mark Webber will have little incentive, he is to have one-second added to his qualifying time. At the first split the Australian posts 29.8, followed by a 37.6 at the second. At the line the Jaguar driver posts 1:30.579, which puts him eleventh.

Takuma Sato is next out, the Japanese driver was mighty impressive this morning. He's quickest in the first sector, crossing the line at 29.0s. At the second split he's quickest again, posting 36.2s. At the line it's 1:27.691, an absolutely stunning lap that should (hopefully) silence the critics. Quite amazing.

David Coulthard is next out, the Scot having a good weekend, thus far. At the first split the McLaren driver posts 29.1, only marginally off the pace. At the second split it's 36.9 as he continues to keep pace with the front-runners. At the line it's 1:28.717, which puts him fourth behind Sato and the Schumachers.

Giancarlo Fisichella takes to the track in the Sauber, the Italian will forfeit ten grid spots following Friday's engine change. At the first split it's 29.4, however he has to ease off… Coulthard has broken down on his 'in lap' which brings out the red flags. Fisichella will get the chance to go again, but this is a nightmare for the Scot and indeed McLaren.

DC didn't even bother posting a time in today's first session in an attempt to 'save' his car. The Scot pushes his car to the side of the track.

As the marshals clear the track, the ambient temperature has risen to 19 degrees C, while track temperature is 38 degrees. The temperature in Coulthard's helmet is around 99 degrees!

Fisichella begins the process again, completing the first sector in 29.6, around 0.2s slower than what he did before. At the second split it's 37.1 followed by a 1:29.327, to go twelfth, 1.5s quicker than his teammate.

Last out is Christian Klien, the man who lost the gem in Monte Carlo. At the first split the Austrian posts 29.9, followed by a 38.0s at the second. He's already lost a lot of time. At the line the Jaguar driver posts 1:30.933, which puts him fifteenth, right behind his teammate.

Therefore, the running order for the second half of the session, is; Bruni followed by Baumgartner, Heidfeld, Pantano and Massa. The last five out will be Button followed by Coulthard, Ralf, Michael and Takuma Sato.

David Coulthard's car is taken back to the pits on the back of a flat truck, the Scot still in his McLaren. He too will lose ten grid spots, and will play no further part in today's proceedings.

This article and associated image was provided by pitpass.com and is used with permission.