Interlagos: Practice Sessions

Interlagos: Practice Sessions

Kimi Raikkonen - 2007 Brazilian Grand PrixWith rain falling over Sao Paulo over night, the host to the final performance of the season – Interlagos – was greasy and slippery for the opening practice session of the Brazilian Grand Prix. Because of the track conditions, several drivers did not complete a flying lap in the morning, among those being championship defender Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella of Renault. With Lewis Hamilton only managing the fifth quickest lap, it was Ferrari who were left to dominate the morning session, Kimi Raikkonen getting the better of Felipe Massa. Later on in the day the roles were reversed and with a clearer track, McLaren got straight down to business going first and second with Alonso getting the better of Hamilton.

Williams performed well with Nico Rosberg assuming the definite team leader role with his new team mate. Rosberg went fourth in the morning and seventh after lunch. In the second car, Kazuki Nakajima impressed on his debut, finishing in sixteenth before improving to eighth after the midday break. Also performing well were the Toyota’s and Red Bull quartet. Ralf Schumacher drove well in the difficult conditions to finish in sixth, but then declined to eleventh. Jarno Trulli mirrored the pace of his team mate, going ninth and sixteenth in the two sessions.

Red Bull managed a strong start to the final weekend of the year with Mark Webber getting to grips with the circuit with a top-ten finish in P1 and Coulthard in P2. David Coulthard completed the last Friday running of the year with thirteenth and ninth respectively. Also continuing their progress were second Red Bull team Scuderia Toro Rosso. The team have been steadily improving through the second half of the season, and todays running emphasised their competitiveness. Sebastian Vettel got the better of his team mate in the first run, claiming seventh as his, but dropping ten places in the second. Vitantonio Liuzzi also did well in the sister car, finishing in tenth before the break, and fifteenth after.

Helping to prop up the timing sheets in the first half were both BMW drivers, failing to complete a timed lap. After lunch though, Robert Kubica went sixth and Heidfeld did his best to get into tenth.

Unfortunately for Hamilton though, he is currently under investigation for using more than one set of wet weather tyres during the practice sessions. Along with Jenson Button and Takuma Sato, Lewis and team are ruing a silly error at such a crucial stage of the championship. Each driver has been called to the stewards office individually and a verdict will be known shortly as to whether a penalty will be handed to any of the drivers.

Update: Lewis received just a fine. No grid penalty. It was a hefty fine, but really not that much for him – I’m sure McLaren will pick it up anyway.

Free Practice One Times

1. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m19.580s
2. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m20.062s
3. Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1m20.829s
4. Nico Rosberg Williams 1m21.064s
5. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1m21.121s
6. Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1m21.243s
7. Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m21.598s
8. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1m22.104s
9. Jarno Trulli Toyota 1m22.104s
10. Vitantonio Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m22.250s
11. Rubens Barrichello Honda 1m22.434s
12. Jenson Button Honda 1m22.477s
13. David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 1m22.667s
14. Takuma Sato Super Aguri 1m22.929s
15. Adrian Sutil Spyker 1m23.248s
16. Kazuki Nakajima Williams 1m23.261s
17. Anthony Davidson Super Aguri 1m23.551s
18. Sakon Yamamoto Spyker 1m24.366s
19. Nick Heidfeld BMW No Time Set
20. Robert Kubica BMW No Time Set
21. Fernando Alonso McLaren No Time Set
22. Giancarlo Fisichella Renault No Time Set

Free Practice Two Times

1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1m12.767s
2. Fernando Alonso McLaren 1m12.889s
3. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m13.075s
4. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m13.112s
5. Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1m13.549s
6. Robert Kubica BMW 1m13.587s
7. Nico Rosberg Williams 1m13.655s
8. Kazuki Nakajima Williams 1m13.664s
9. David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 1m13.706s
10. Nick Heidfeld BMW 1m13.785s
11. Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1m13.829s
12. Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1m13.879s
13. Rubens Barrichello Honda 1m13.892s
14. Jenson Button Honda 1m14.095s
15. Vitantonio Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m14.152s
16. Jarno Trulli Toyota 1m14.179s
17. Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m14.409s
18. Takuma Sato Super Aguri 1m14.431s
19. Anthony Davidson Super Aguri 1m14.477s
20. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1m14.543s
21. Adrian Sutil Spyker 1m15.095s
22. Sakon Yamamoto Spyker 1m15.715s

Formula One, F1, Brazilian Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari

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