Raikkonen tops the times
Temperatures had risen even further for the start of the second and final session for Friday at the Sepang circuit with the track registering a whopping 54 degrees and the McLaren of Kimi Raikkonen obviously loved the heat!
After setting some good solid times in this morning’s opening hour, British American Racing’s Anthony Davidson becomes the first casualty of the weekend, his 006 stopping on the hot and sticky Malaysian track.
BAR soon lose a second 006 when Takuma Sato loses control under braking, losing the front nosecone when he made contact with the barriers. While the two Williams drivers trade fastest laps at the top of the leaderboard, Ralf eventually winning the battle four tenths up on his teammates, Cristiano da Matta’s Toyota takes a trip into the gravel at top speed. Thankfully the Brazilian driver is uninjured.
With only minutes remaining, Rubens Barrichello has a spin in the F2004, however the Ferrari driver continues on.
After what has been a disappointing day, the McLaren of Kimi Raikkonen pulls out all the stops to take top spot in the MP4-19, equalling the time set by Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari this morning. Meanwhile teammate David Coulthard is at a loss to match the Finn’s pace and finishes the session in ninth after a flying lap from the Sauber of Felipe Massa sees the C23 in seventh place.
Top ten from the final session were: Kimi Raikkonen, Ralf Schumacher, Mark Webber, Michael Schumacher, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jarno Trulli, Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso, David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello.
One notable thing happened this afternoon and that was the Minardi of Gimmi Bruni sitting ahead of all three Jordan runners.
