Juan Montoya in the Williams went out next and took 3rd spot with teammate Ralf Schumacher taking 4th. The gloomy skies got darker by the minute as the teams kept a watchful eye on the skies. Barrichello took to the track in his Ferrari and managed 5th quickest time after an abbreviated practice which showed him no better than 12th and with a damaged front wing. He was not the only driver to lose a wing to the “improved” section of the circuit.

David Coulthard in the 2nd McLaren managed 6th spot followed by Trulli in the Renault. The 1st 7 cars are separated just over 1 second.

Teammate Alonso turned in an 8th place time as the 1st drops of rain appeared on the track. The next 3 drivers being Fisichella/Jordan, Frentzen/Sauber and Button/BAR all slowed to over 2 seconds off the pole pace as the track became more difficult to negotiate.

Mark Webber in the 1st Jaguar had to feel disappointed since he practiced 2nd quick, just to take to a wet track and post a time almost 6 seconds slower than Raikkonen for 12th spot. This talented driver needs some luck, in my opinion.

Despite increasingly dreadful conditions all but 1 of the remaining 7 drivers managed to stay on track and complete a timed lap. Da Matta had the Toyota out of shape but hung on to continue, but ex World champion Jacques Villeneuve managed to beach himself.

Hopefully tomorrow will be dry for these fellows and the huge gaps of almost a minute will disappear. The field can be much tighter than the times showed today and in dry practice the Michelin tires appear to be the better rubber. This is despite the claim that the 2 rival tire companies are running virtually identical compounds for this event.

The weather forecast for Saturday is calling for rain in the morning.

Article by: Tony Moffett