Alonso fastest in closely contested 2nd practice

Fernando Alonso has put his Renault F1 car at the top of the timesheets in today’s second free practice session for the San Marino Grand Prix. In a closely contested and action-packed practice session, world champion Fernando Alonso has topped the timesheets to beat Michael Schumacher’s best lap and avoid a Ferrari monopoly on the top spots in today’s running. The Spaniard set his best of 1:25.043 in the final part of the session to finish 0.328 ahead of Schumacher.

Robert Kubica was again competitive and impressive for BMW, setting the third quickest lap despite a spin.

The session saw a number of spinners, including Honda’s Anthony Davidson, while a number of drivers had some big moments as they pushed ever harder for an improved time. All spins and moments of late-braking finished harmlessly, and the ultra-competitive nature of the session saw the top seven covered by just a second, with the top 17 covered by two.

Behind Kubica it was the Honda of Anthony Davidson who came fourth, followed by the second Renault of Giancarlo Fisichella, 0.948 off his team-mate’s best. Jarno Trulli was again in the top ten for Toyota in seventh with Alex Wurz eighth for Williams, Juan Pablo Montoya ninth for McLaren and Nick Heidfeld tenth for BMW.

The F1 circus now looks towards tomorrow, and the practice session and knock-out qualifying session that will determine Sunday’s grid. With things as they are the Renault F1 team look to be in hot contention for the front row, but with a rejuvenated Ferrari making bold claims about their potential for the race, we may see a thrilling battle for pole.

http://www.f1technical.net/news/2617