Spanish GP Practise Sessions, News

FP3 – Hamilton fastest

          
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:21.233 13
2. Alonso McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:21.312 + 0.079 13
3. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:21.364 + 0.131 17
4. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:21.464 + 0.231 17
5. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:21.556 + 0.323 12
6. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:21.659 + 0.426 14
7. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:21.829 + 0.596 15
8. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:21.845 + 0.612 15
9. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:21.953 + 0.720 16
10. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:22.067 + 0.834 18
11. Fisichella Renault (B) 1:22.140 + 0.907 12
12. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:22.174 + 0.941 25
13. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:22.274 + 1.041 15
14. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:22.295 + 1.062 21
15. Speed Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:22.314 + 1.081 16
16. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:22.570 + 1.337 21
17. Button Honda (B) 1:22.744 + 1.511 17
18. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.759 + 1.526 13
19. Wurz Williams-Toyota (B) 1:23.020 + 1.787 16
20. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:23.367 + 2.134 8
21. Sutil Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:23.584 + 2.351 22
22. Albers Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:23.817 + 2.584 22
flags_of_Spain.gif Video:
videoKimi's FP3 Best Time

Kimi says the championship fight have just started, heading into the european races. The Spanish GP crowd will be hoping for 
Fernando Alonso to take pole position and for McLaren that would be perfect (if you consider the media attention and sponsor
benefits they would receive from having the two time world champ). So, will McLaren take pole today? For Kimi, he can't let
that happen. It's true that the front row drivers or the pole sitter wins the grand prix nowadays, we saw this in Melbourne,
Malaysia and Bahrain. So, getting pole position will be Kimi's target, nothing less. He said in his column preview of the Spanish
GP that getting pole means taking victory will be more probable and easier. So, we can trust that Kimi will stick to his words and
fight for pole position today, nevermind if he hasn't been fastest in the 3 practise sessions. Keep Flying Kimi!


News:

Raikkonen likes the idea of night racing
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen gave his seal of approval on Friday to plans for a night-time Formula One race in Singapore next year.

"I think it’s going to be good. Hopefully everything works well. It
will be quite nice I think, a different atmosphere and a different
race," he told reporters at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Unlike some other drivers, the Finn said he was not concerned about the safety implications of racing under floodlights.

"It’s going to look like daytime when they put all the lights on," he said.

Raikkonen more comfortable with F2007
The designer of the F2007, Aldo Costa believes car improvement was also down to Kimi’s input: "Kimi is happier with the car, with the modifications done, but he
was also working well on the set-up. We were developing a good set-up
for him and he is much happier.

"I think he found what he wanted. Of course it depends entirely on
the conditions of the track. (On Friday) the track had quite a low
level of grip, so it was not a fantastic track, but at the test we were
much happier."


FP2 – Alonso quickest

Pos  Driver        Team                    Time              Laps
1. Alonso McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:21.397 33
2. Fisichella Renault (B) 1:21.684 + 0.287 39
3. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:21.966 + 0.569 38
4. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:22.048 + 0.651 31
5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:22.188 + 0.791 37
6. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:22.251 + 0.854 33
7. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.415 + 1.018 29
8. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:22.543 + 1.146 40
9. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.589 + 1.192 39
10. Speed Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:22.617 + 1.220 35
11. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:22.710 + 1.313 43
12. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.719 + 1.322 30
13. Button Honda (B) 1:22.808 + 1.411 39
14. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:22.926 + 1.529 40
15. Wurz Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.950 + 1.553 30
16. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:23.143 + 1.746 29
17. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:23.219 + 1.822 28
18. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:23.307 + 1.910 42
19. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:23.493 + 2.096 40
20. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:23.497 + 2.100 49
21. Sutil Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:23.609 + 2.212 33
22. Albers Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:23.736 + 2.339 30


Ferrari’s thoughts – Friday practice
Kimi Raikkonen commented, "Track conditions were very different to
those we found when testing here last week and it is definitely more
slippery. So, we are struggling a bit to find the right balance of the
car. All our work has centred on finding the best race set-up on the
car. We will have to study the data carefully to improve, both for
qualifying and for Sunday’s race."

Kimi was just saying yesterday that the track could change, and he’s right; it has become more slippery. It’s not just slippery for him, but a lot of drivers have spun off track today, sliding here and there. So, at least our Kimster is has been cautious as well as confident for the race 🙂 However, setting up the car for single lap pace is still a bit of a problem, but can Kimi get pole position tomorrow? Will he draw every single tenth out of that Ferrari for the No.1 grid spot, like he used to at McLaren? I hope so, it would be great to see him sparkle like that again.

Singapore night race confirmed for 2008
Singapore has been confirmed as a Grand Prix venue for the 2008
calendar. A street circuit will be layed out for the event whilst
Bernie Ecclestone was excited to announce that it will be the first
night race in the history of the sport.


The five-year deal for the Singapore Grand Prix was agreed between F1
surpemo Ecclestone, Singapore entrepeneur Mr Ong Beng Seng and the
Singapore Tourism Board.


"I am very pleased to welcome
Singapore to the Formula One family and we look forward to this exotic
addition to the championship," said Ecclestone. "This will be the first
fully lit street race in Formula One.


"As a night race we
anticipate it will quickly establish itself as one of the most dramatic
and atmospheric races on our calendar. I know the Formula One drivers,
teams and fans are all looking forward to coming to Singapore next
year."


The race is being planned towards the end of the 2008
season in either September or October. Because it is a night event, it
can be broadcasted during the day to European TV viewers.

I just love the layout of this track, see the google earth image: Singapore City Circuit should bring some extra spice to F1 track action. So, we now have Valencia and Singapore to compete with our current street circuits in Melbourne, Monaco and Canada. Rather than just sticking to Tilke’s massive tarmac desert tracks, a bit more of variety can’t be a bad thing. Remember, there’s also rumours of more changes to the current F1 rules regulations such as ban of winglets (aero), so keep tuned for all the news!


FP1
img265/9068/krspain2cl4.jpg

< BMW’s new wing

FP1 Results:

Pos  Driver        Team                    Time              Laps
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:21.880 22
2. Alonso McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:22.268 + 0.388 21
3. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:22.291 + 0.411 19
4. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:22.446 + 0.566 21
5. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:22.565 + 0.685 15
6. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:22.665 + 0.785 21
7. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:22.740 + 0.860 28
8. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:22.843 + 0.963 23
9. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:23.048 + 1.168 28
10. Button Honda (B) 1:23.114 + 1.234 22
11. Wurz Williams-Toyota (B) 1:23.131 + 1.251 23
12. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:23.170 + 1.290 26
13. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:23.316 + 1.436 22
14. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:23.322 + 1.442 24
15. Fisichella Renault (B) 1:23.397 + 1.517 21
16. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:23.428 + 1.548 21
17. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:23.444 + 1.564 21
18. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:23.479 + 1.599 23
19. Sutil Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:23.954 + 2.074 25
20. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:24.104 + 2.224 24
21. Speed Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:24.179 + 2.299 19
22. Albers Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:24.396 + 2.516 25

Lewis Hamilton moved onto the soft tyre compounds which may explain him going fastest by nearly half a second. Kimi, though, seems to be reserving his true speed for the ‘maximum attack’ tomorrow, hehe…

img123/5096/krsmileyesry7.jpg


As you may know, Schumi is present for the first time this year at a grand prix. Here’s an interview with him:
Q & A with Michael Schumacher

Q. What is your analysis of the job that Kimi is doing at the team?

MS: It is not my part of work to analyse the drivers.
Certainly I have my view, but I don’t think it is my job to make that
public honestly. I don’t see any reason, as I spoke before, to make any
comments in any direction. Unfortunately in this business they can be
twisted too many times around, so I am happy that we as a team are
doing well and we can win the championship. That is all that counts.

2 thoughts on “Spanish GP Practise Sessions, News

  1. Unknown's avatar

    Hey!! you’re going a GREAT job! I actually visits your page EVERY single day! it’s always up to date!! so keep it up!! thank youu so much for doing this!! you have the great Iceman page eveRr!

    Like

  2. Unknown's avatar

    Thank you, whoever you are! Would have been nice to know your name at least 🙂 It’s a pleasure. Kimi Raikkonen Space is just my way of showing my adoration and support of the Finn.

    Like

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