US Grand Prix – Qualifying

July 1, 2006 by paul
Filed under: Uncategorized

Track temperature 52°C; air temp 33°C; wind 2.0m/s; humidity 40%

Session 1
Webber is first to set a lap time – 1:14.108
Ralf Schumacher 1:13.776
Albera 1:3.360
Loads of “plank” dust being thrown up from Trulli’s Toyota – he’s running too low
Coulthard 1:13.180
Monteiro 1:13.094
Halfway through the first session – lots of activity on track and in the pits
Montoya 1:12.477
Michael Schumacher 1:11.588
5mins left
Massa 1:11.088
Trulli is out of his car and walking to the back of the garage … and he’s in the bottom 6, so he’s not going to progress
Chequered flag is out – session ends
DC didn’t complete that lap, so he’s not moving to Session 2
Bottom 6: P17=Coulthard, 18=Sato, 19=Rosberg, 20=Trulli, 21=Liuzzi, 22=Montagny
Fastest was Massa 1:11.088

[Football is still 0-0; they're playing extra time]

Trulli says the smoke was from the suspension, not the plank

Session 2
Villeneuve first on track
JV 1:12.391
NH 1:11.718
RB 1:11.512
Half-time of this session – 4 drivers yet to set a time (MS, FMa, TM, CA)
Looks like the FIA timing is broken again
MS 1:10.636 … although it looked like it was going to be 1:11+ as he came through the last corner
Big slide as Montoya’s McLaren rear-end steps out coming out of the final corner (where RS had his accident last year)
3mins left – TM and CA still yet to set a time
JM was still in the final turn as the chequered flag falls – that lap won’t count
Bottom 6: P11=Montoya, 12=Webber, 13=Speed, 14=Albers, 15=Monteiro, 16=Klien
Fastest was MS 1:10.636 (although I think the time is wrong)

[Football has gone to penalties ... and England have never won a penalty shoot-out in the World Cup]

Session 3
The 10 drivers taking part are: FA, GF, KR, MS, FMa, RS, RB, JB, NH & JV
They’re all lined up at the end of the pit lane, with MS and FA side by side!
It’s almost like a race start as the pit lane opens; FA locks up into Turn 1 but he’s ahead of MS
MS 1:14.527
RS 1:14.291
[Football's over - England didn't break their duck]
15mins left
MS 1:13.978
NH has pulled off and stopped
MS 1:13.925
10mins left
MS 1:13.916
RB 1:13.807
MS 1:13.781
8mins left – the mechanics are beginning to prepare for the first tyre change
Both Honda cars have their tyres changed, but then the tyre warmers were put back on for a second, and then off again and they leave the pits together
Everyone expects the teams will try to have their drivers provide tow (i.e. drag each other) along the straight
5mins left
FA 1:12.449
GF 1:12.135
MS 1:10.832
FA pits – front wing adjustment … and the same for GF
2mins left – MS, FMa, GF, FA, JB, JV, RB, KR, RS, NH
Chequered flag is out but they can complete their current lap
Provisional grid: P1=MS, 2=FMa, GF, RB, FA, JV, JB, RS, KR, NH; JM, MW, SS, CA, TM, CK, DC, TS, NR, JT, VL, FMo.