Italian Grand Prix – Qualifying

September 9, 2006 by
Filed under: Uncategorized 

Of course the main focus this weekend is the question of Michael Schumacher’s retirement – will he / should he quit at the end of this season? (This was the random image on the blog page just now!)

Track temperature 41°C; air temp 28°C; wind 1.4m/s; humidity 37%
There was a lot of rain overnight so the track’s going to be a bit green.

Honda had engine problems – Anthony Davidson was testing the new spec engine and it went bang, so they changed both Button and Barrichello back to the old spec before they went out, avoiding a 10 grid spot penalty – smart move

Qualifying session 1 (Q1):
First out on the Monza circuit is Sakon Yamamoto in Super Aguri, followed by Liuzzi in the Toro Rosso
SY 1:26.425
VL 1:24.344
DC 1:23.453
Red flag is out with 9:28 left of the clock
Looks like a tyre has delaminated on the main straight
Yamamoto’s left rear tyre is virtually non-existant
Replay shows SY passing the pit lane with someone just behind him as his left rear Bridgestone disintegrates, and he’s exclaiming over the pit-car radio
He’s finally made it back to the pits – he took it slowly to reduce the damage to the Super Aguri’s bodywork but it still looks like they might need to replace the rear wing
Session due to restart at 14:13 local time.
Session restarts with Massa followed by De la Rosa
FM 1:22.028
MS 1:21.711
NH splits the Ferrari drivers, same as in practice earlier
5mins left; yet to set a time are: MW, NR, TM, CA, FA, GF & RK (all bar RK are on track)
3mins left; bottom six are SY, FA, GF, RK, TM, CA (although only of those only SY has set a lap time)
FA goes P2 and GF to P8
1min left; bottom 6 are CA, MW, TM, TS, RK, SY
CK is off, beached on the kerb of a gravel trap – looks like his Red Bull is stuck in gear
Chequered flag is out but current flying laps will count
Session ended; bottom 6 are: P17=VL, 18=CA, 19=MW(!), 20=TM, 21=TS, 22=SY
Will CK be able to take part in Q2?

Qualifying session 2 (Q2):
1minute gone and no-one looks keen to head out on track
CK’s car didn’t make it back to the pits in time, so he’ll be P16
Kubica takes the plunge and his BMW Sauber sets off
RK 1:21.617 – that’s faster than MS’s Q1 time
FA 1:21.526
Half the session gone and 7 drivers yet to set a time (including CK)
MS goes P2
KR 1:21.349
FM 1:21.225
5mins left; all drivers (except CK) have set a time; bottom 6 are PdlR, RS, NR, DC, SS, CK
3mins left; bottom 6 is unchanged: PdlR, RS, NR, DC, SS, CK
1min left; no change
JT moves to P9, bumping Button down to P10
PdlR takes P9, which means JB is in P11 :(
Chequered flag is out
RK is on a flying lap, but he’s safe in P6 so he should abort that lap
JB moves himself up to P7 and is safely through to Q3
Session ended; bottom 6 are P11=JT, 12=NR, 13=RS, 14=DC, 15=SS, 16=CK

Qualifying session 3 (Q3):
Competing for the top 10 positions are Massa, Kubica, Raikkonen, M.Schumacher, Heidfeld, Alonso, Button, Barrichello, Fisichella & de la Rosa – that’s both Ferrari, BMW, Renault, McLaren & Honda drivers
As usual, the cars are queueing at the pit lane exit, ready for the session to start, with NH at the head of the line
NH 1:25.678
FM 1:25.604
FM 1:25.037
JB 1:24.658
10mins left; 1=JB, FM, NH, PR, KR, GF, FA, RB, RK, MS
JB 1:24.498
FA takes to the run-off in Turn 1 because MS slows right down
FA has a rear right puncture
Half time for the session
Replay shows damage to FA’s rear wing caused by the flailing Michelin tyre
Pit stops
5mins left; P1=JB, FM, NH, KR, PR, RK, GF, FA, MS, RB
FA finally rejoins the circuit
FM 1:21.704
KR 1:21.621
3mins left; P1=KR, FM, MS, NH, RK, PR, JB, FA, GF, RB
2nd pit stops
2mins left; P1=KR, FM, MS, NH, RK, PR, JB, FA, GF, RB
FA pits for new tyres with just 1:30 left on the clock – he leaves with ~1:20 left, but will that be enough to start a flying lap?
1min left; P1=KR, FM, MS, NH, RK, PR, JB, FA, GF, RB
30secs left; FM is on a hot lap
Chequered flag is out; P1=KR, FM, MS, NH, RK, PR, JB, FA, GF, RB
FM was the last to cross before the flag – FA did make it just in time
MS 1:21.486
KR 1:21.484
FA bumps JB down for P5
Sessions ends; P1=KR, 2=MS, 3=NH, 4=FM, 5=FA, 6=JB, 7=RK, 8=PdlR, 9=RB, 10=GF

Provisional Grid:

  1. K.Raikkonen (McLaren)
  2. M.Schumacher (Ferrari)
  3. N.Heidfeld (BMW)
  4. F.Massa (Ferrari)
  5. F.Alonso (Renault)
  6. J.Button (Honda)
  7. R.Kubica (BMW)
  8. P.de la Rosa (McLaren)
  9. R.Barrichello (Honda)
  10. G.Fisichellla (Renault)
  11. J.Trulli (Toyota)
  12. N.Rosberg (Williams)
  13. R.Schumacher (Toyota)
  14. D.Coulthard (Red Bull)
  15. S.Speed (Toro Rosso)
  16. C.Klien (Red Bull)
  17. V.Liuzzi (Toro Rosso)
  18. C.Albers (Midland)
  19. M.Webber (Williams)
  20. T.Montiero (Midland)
  21. T.Sato (Super Aguri)
  22. S.Yamamoto (Super Aguri)

Fastest lap of qualifying: KR in Q3, 1:21.484

Tags:

Comments

2 Comments on Italian Grand Prix – Qualifying

  1. Paul, Kerri and The Boys » Italian Grand Prix - penalty on Sat, 9th Sep 2006 7:26 pm

    2. [...] Paul, Kerri and The Boys « Italian Grand Prix – Qualifying Italian Grand Prix – penalty [...]

  2. Paul, Kerri and The Boys » Italian Grand Prix - race on Sun, 10th Sep 2006 7:37 am

    3. [...] After qualifying the FIA penalised Alonso for not driving a Ferrari, so the revised grid looks like this: KR, MS, NH, FM, JB, RK, PR, RB, GF, FA*, JT, NR, RS, DC, SS, CK, VL, CA, MW, TM, TS, SY [...]

Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!