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Final practice laps hint at qualifying performance--SPOILER

Discussion in 'Other Racing' started by DF1, Aug 22, 2008.

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  1. DF1

    DF1 Three Time F1 World Champ

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    #1 DF1, Aug 22, 2008
    Nice to see Kimi on the move again....qualy might be a great for him!

    Raikkonen shows the pace of the F2008
    Fri 22 Aug, 05:52 PM - F1Live.com



    Reading too much into Friday practice times can be a mistake, but there is no denying that the Ferrari package seems to be the one to have following the opening day of practice around the streets of Valencia.

    Kimi Raikkonen saved his best lap until the final seconds of the session, moving from fourth fastest to the top of the timesheets with a best lap of 1:39.477s. The Finn opted to remain on the harder primary tyre, underlining the pace of the F2008 package.

    With less than two seconds covering the entire field of 20 cars, it was of no surprise to see some opt for a simulated qualifying lap at the end of the 90-minute session, vaulting up the timesheets from mid-field obscurity to the sharp end of the grid.

    Fernando Alonso pushed hard in the final minutes using the softer option Bridgestone Potenza and set the second fastest time of the day just 0.020s adrift of Raikkonen. It was a good lap from the Renault driver as he takes that valuable information into qualifying tomorrow. It was a similar situation for Jenson Button in the Honda as he vaulted third fastest in the final minutes of free practice, just 0.069s adrift of the ultimate pace.

    Felipe Massa was fourth fastest for Ferrari, using both available compounds and proving rapid on both. Title rival Lewis Hamilton today did not quite have the pace of the Ferrari duo and will have to be content with fifth position overnight ahead of McLaren Mercedes team-mate Heikki Kovalainen.

    Timo Glock seems on fine form once again, recording the seventh fastest time this afternoon. Toyota team-mate Jarno Trulli in contrast does not seem to have found the balance on his TF108 and ended the day down in 15th position.

    It was another mixed session for the BMW Sauber team with Robert Kubica running reasonably well to the eighth fastest time, but once again Nick Heidfeld was off the pace in 18th position and a second behind his team-mate. Arguably Heidfeld is running a differing programme today, but given his qualifying woes so far this year, free practice is an ideal time to try some simulated qualifying runs.

    Nelson Piquet spent much of the session at the tail of the field, but moved up into the top ten late on and ended the day with the ninth fastest time ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella who put in a good time in his Force India Ferrari.

    Mark Webber and Red Bull team-mate David Coulthard missed the first third of the session, presumably with mechanical issues on the RB4s. Webber would rebound however to set the 11th best time with Coulthard a tenth of a second slower in 13th.

    Nico Rosberg survived a wild spin early in the session and was fortunate not to make contact with Webber ahead of him on track. Seeing the out of control Williams in his mirrors as he turned into the final corner, Webber took avoiding action and contact was averted. Rosberg would go on to record the 12th best time with team-mate Kazuki Nakajima close behind in 14th position.

    Sebastian Vettel made the headlines this morning with a new tyre run, but this afternoon the young German racer will have to be satisfied with 16th position with Toro Rosso team-mate Sebastien Bourdais 19th. Adrian Sutil was 17th in the second Force India Ferrari ahead of the disappointing Heidfeld, while Rubens Barrichello had the dubious honour of ending the day 20th in the second Honda.
     
  2. senna21

    senna21 F1 Rookie

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    #2 senna21, Aug 22, 2008
    Kimi had said yesterday in an interview, or it may have been Wednesday, that he was going to change his strategy and sacrifice some race pace for a better qualifying position.

    I don't think I'd seen it posted here at FerrariChat. I guess Ron was too busy posting up articles and interviews about Massa to post that one. ;)
     
  3. bigodino

    bigodino F1 World Champ
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    #3 bigodino, Aug 22, 2008
    Which I guess means he will have a lighter fuel load than usual for qualifying?
     
  4. senna21

    senna21 F1 Rookie

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    #4 senna21, Aug 22, 2008
    I'm guessing lighter fuel load and also different set up altogether. Usually if you had the ability to do a specific qualifying setup and race set up you'd use a higher downforce configuration for qualifying and then trim some of the downforce off for the race. The Ferrari's been easier on the tires than the McLaren so they take a bit longer to come up to temp. By going with a higher downforce set up Kimi would be able to make better use of his tires during the few laps during qualifying but wouldn't be able to save the tires as he has during the race.
     
  5. 355

    355 F1 Rookie
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    #5 355, Aug 22, 2008
    Its again interesting to see Alonso running on fumes just to stay in the limelite. I suspect he will run light for quali as well but dont look for him to do much in the race. His constantly running lighter than the rest of the field is only self serving and is doing nothing for the development of the renault as the telemetry numbers are always false.
     
  6. jk0001

    jk0001 F1 Veteran

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    #6 jk0001, Aug 22, 2008

    Alonso wants to be out front for the home crowd. Even if he has to be on a five stop strategy!
     
  7. 355

    355 F1 Rookie
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    #7 355, Aug 22, 2008
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2008
    +100 This is something that a really good professional driver would never do. Alonso does it repeatedly. Can you imagine the mechanics at Ferrari with a driver like that pulling those stunts. Alonso must have pictures of Flavio with Mosley in his back pocket.
     
  8. senna21

    senna21 F1 Rookie

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    #8 senna21, Aug 22, 2008
    :rolleyes: You do know it's the team that's fueling the car, right? As for this weekend running on fumes for the first stint, in early might be the best thing to do. Everyone's planning on at least one SC period. I'm sure every team in the paddock has averaged out at what point during a race you're most likely to have the SC out. Plan on coming in just before then for fuel and you'd find yourself in the "Piquet position."

    I'm hoping for a very interesting weekend. Let's hope the Toyotas keep stealing points form the BMWs as well.
     
  9. kraftwerk

    kraftwerk Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #9 kraftwerk, Aug 22, 2008
    +1
    Timo Glock and Vettel looked impressive.

    What is more interesting to me, is why there is such a gap between Button and Rubino.

    There again tis only practise.
     
  10. RP

    RP F1 World Champ

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    #10 RP, Aug 22, 2008
    I did, yesterday, two threads about Kimi, one concerning qualifying!!
     
  11. RP

    RP F1 World Champ

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    #11 RP, Aug 22, 2008
    I think you've hit on it. Its a street circuit, sure its faster than Monaco, but it will still be hard to pass. Starting up front is the the way to go, not to mention avoiding some first lap kamakazee moves by certain drivers. I can not fault Alonso/Renault for runnng light to qualify.

    I would.
     
  12. Far Out

    Far Out F1 Veteran

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    #12 Far Out, Aug 22, 2008
    Nice that Kimi is back at speed again. Would be way nicer if he had woke up some races ago, or never fallen asleep at all...
     
  13. Modeler

    Modeler F1 Veteran

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    #13 Modeler, Aug 22, 2008
    It seems RB had a braking issue with his car that they chose to live with rather than lose track time correcting.

    It will be interesting to see if both Hondas can perform well in qualifying or if it was just a serendipidous combo of set up and track JB found during Pract 2.
    If his set up holds up as more rubber goes down both drivers might make the third qual. Wouldn't that raise moral in their camp? (rhetorical question)
     
  14. Whisky

    Whisky Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #14 Whisky, Aug 23, 2008
    BUT if he happens to bag a win, nobody will care.

    I would not count him out at all, the race is in Spain..
     

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