Combine running at a circuit that is well known to all the teams and drivers because it is such a popular venue for testing, especially in the winter, with a rule that restricts the number of tyres that you can use and also insists that one engine must last two race weekends and the result is what we saw here this morning. Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher were first and second respectively but the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro drivers were two of only nine drivers to set an actual lap time.

Even Felipe and Michael only did four timed laps to save their equipment for the second hour of practice, when the track surface would be cleaner. The morning hour was particularly expensive for the reigning world champion: Fernando Alonso only did two installation laps, but it was enough for him to be caught speeding in the pit lane, for which he was fined US$2,000, which works out at a pricey one thousand dollars per lap! In the afternoon, the Renault man was the quickest of the "race" drivers, in third place behind two Friday-only men, Anthony Davidson quickest for Honda and Robert Doornbos second for the Ferrari-powered Red Bull Racing. Austria was well represented with third Williams driver Alex Wurz fourth quickest and Christian Klien fifth for Red Bull, while our own Michael Schumacher was sixth, completing 21 trouble free laps in this session. Felipe Massa (19 laps) was down in seventeenth place, but was very relaxed about his position saying his programme today had not involved trying to set a particularly quick time. Both Scuderia drivers concentrated on tyre work, as this circuit has always been quite a tricky venue when it comes to tyre choice."

Jean Todt: "It's always the same on Friday, a day dedicated mainly to the comparison between the two types of tyre that Bridgestone has put at our disposal. From what we could see, the Japanese firm has done a good job, which should allow us to be competitive for the rest of the weekend. Even though both drivers had run here a few weeks ago, we worked on fine tuning the set-up of the car, adapting it to the current track conditions. We got a lot of interesting data which is now being studied by the engineers before making the tyre choice and deciding on settings."
 

Michael Schumacher: "I am very happy with the work we have done today, centred on the Bridgestone tyres and on adapting the 248 F1 to the track conditions. Compared with the last time we were here we have a few updates on the car and steps forward with the tyres. I think we can be competitive, even though we have yet to go into detail on the data. There are a lot of factors to consider. Looking at the times this morning we were quick and the good thing is that this afternoon, over a longer distance we were both quick and consistent, so the situation looks pretty good."

Felipe Massa: "This weekend has got off on the right foot. The day went very well and we worked almost exclusively on the Bridgestone tyres, obviously looking towards the race. Michael and I split the work load, using different types of tyre. Today I was not trying to do a time but just wanted to understand how the tyres performed over a long run. I am very satisfied with the 248 F1 and what we achieved today."

Ross Brawn: "It was a good day and both drivers did a good job, getting through everything on their programmes. We got a whole heap of data, also doing some quite long runs on both types of Bridgestone tyre we have here. The balance of the cars seems quite good and the engineers only made minor adjustments."

Free practice - First session: Felipe Massa: 1st 1.15.796  4 laps chassis 250; Michael Schumacher: 2nd 1.16.099 4 laps  chassis 254; Temperatures:  air  18/20°C, track 22/28°C; Free practice - Second session: Michael Schumacher: 6th 1.17.100  21 laps  chassis 254; Felipe Massa: 17th  1.18.223 19 laps chassis 250; Temperatures: air 23/24°C, track 33/35°C