08.10.2004 Michael Schumacher went fastest in his Ferrari as torrential rain drenched Japan for the opening two practice sessions at Suzuka this morning

As anticipated Suzuka was soaked this morning, to the point where most of the F1 teams sent their drivers out purely for installation laps for much of first practice, preferring to save their prime effort until the dying minutes of the rain-drenched session.

With Typhoon 22 due to hit Japan at around midnight tonight, tomorrow's pre-qualifying and qualifying sessions have been cancelled, and instead will taken place on Sunday morning, prior to the running of the Grand Prix.

Jean Todt: 'We had two hours of free practice in the worst possible weather. Despite this, we tried to work on the set-up of the F2004 and, from what we could see, the car and Bridgestone tyre package seemed to work well.

'The forecast for tomorrow is definitely not encouraging and we might have to take a stab in the dark as far as choosing a dry weather tyre, which adds another element of uncertainty.

'Watching the cars go round in these conditions definitely makes us more anxious than usual: it is clear that visibility for the drivers is virtually zero and they are practically in the dark when it comes to knowing what is going on in front and behind them.'

Rubens Barrichello: 'It has been a difficult day because, as much as I like driving in the wet, today’s conditions have made it almost impossible to do any meaningful work. I was not even pushing on the straights as it was not worth it. I feel sorry for all the Japanese fans who came today. Hopefully, Sunday will be a better day and we and the fans will be able to enjoy ourselves.'

Michael Schumacher: 'Overall, it was an interesting day running in the rain here at Suzuka. Because of the weather, we could not do as much running as we would have liked, but at least we managed to do a bit of work on the car.

'Now, we have to wait and see what happens tomorrow with the weather. Already today, it was almost impossible to drive and if conditions get worse, which seems likely, I don’t think we could go out on track. If that happens, maybe I’ll play football or backgammon…'

Ross Brawn: 'The conditions were extremely difficult, but the drivers were happy with the cars which seem reasonably well balanced. Apart from having to cope with the partial flooding on the track, the cars and the Bridgestone tyres were very good. And this was proved by the fact that Michael did some very good times despite the bad conditions.

'So, if the weather stays like this for Sunday, we will not be unhappy. The unknown factor is what will happen tomorrow, if the expected typhoon hits the circuit. There is some speculation that we might not be able to run tomorrow and there will be some rearrangements to Sunday’s schedule.

'If it turns out to be dry on Sunday, it will be a very interesting situation as we would have to guess which tyre and what set-up to run. But the team is strong in unusual situations, so it would be an opportunity as well as a problem.'

Free practice - First session: Michael Schumacher: 1st 1.47.906 5 laps chassis 239, Rubens Barrichello: 3rd 1.49.846 4 laps chassis 240, Temperatures: air 17/16°C, track 19/18°C

Free practice – Second session: Michael Schumacher: 1st 1.45.388 5 laps chassis 239, Rubens Barrichello: 4th 1.49.846 4 laps chassis 240, Temperatures: air 17/15 °C, track 19°C