BMW's moment in the sun

Renault drivers were fourth and seventeenth this morning as BMW had their moment in the sun. As expected, the temperature here in Melbourne plummeted overnight, and when the time came for the start of today’s practice session, the teams and drivers were faced with a track which had been drenched in rain.

As the downpour itself abated and the sun peered through the clouds to lightly dry the track, everyone made at least one attempt at to set a lap time, as there is more rain predicted for qualifying and possibly even the race itself. Knowledge of the track in this state was going to be crucial.

Such is the nature of this track that when it rains, the rubbered in line disappears almost immediately, replaced with a track which has more in common with an ice rink than a racing circuit as all the dirt and grease is pulled out of the tarmac.

The early runners discovered this all too fast, as car after car locked up under braking, or ran wide through the sweeping corners of Albert Park. It was Giancarlo Fisichella who set the benchmark times however, placing his Renault at the head of the field. Team-mate Fernando Alonso took over the mantle with around half an hour remaining, but as their rivals continued to push over the limits allowed in the circumstances, a dry line was certainly starting to form.

Indeed, as the minutes ticked away, the lap times fell, and it was Giancarlo who again found himself leading the way with a time that was now three seconds better than he had managed earlier in the session. Fernando went out on slicks for a tentative run, but despite the warm sun drying a distinct line around the course, he was still losing close to four seconds in the first sector alone, so carefully was he having to drive.

In the dying minutes of the session, first Jacques Villeneuve and then Nick Heidfeld took over from Gaincarlo in the top spot, with the German eventually finishing the morning on top with a time of 1:35.335, nearly a full second clear of Villeneuve. Third place went to Tonio Liuzzi in the Toro Rosso. Liuzzi is adept in all conditions, but his position may well be overly flattering thanks to the fact the time was set at the very end of the session as conditions reached their best.

Giancarlo wound up fourth as Fernando’s experiments on dry rubber on a still wet track left him in 17th, but with a wealth of information gathered for the Renault F1 Team on the optimum track state to change onto slicks should we see changeable conditions on Sunday.

Behind Giancarlo, Ralf Schumacher ran home fifth for Toyota, with Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher sixth and seventh respectively for Ferrari. Rubens Barrichello was eighth in the Honda, with Jarno Trulli ninth in the second Toyota. Rounding out the top ten, and possibly emphasising that Liuzzi’s lap had not all been down to the timing of his run, was Scott Speed in the second Toro Rosso.

With rain expected again before qualifying, the three sessions could well prove to be an absolute lottery. It should be yet another fascinating hour of action.