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It is always
quite difficult the significance of the time sheets at the
end of the two hours of free practice on Fridays at the
grands prix, as teams run different programmes to suit their
own particular priorities over the weekend. In addition, the
Hungaroring has always thrown in the additional complication
that it is usually very hot and the track is normally very
dusty and dirty through lack of use. This year, an further
unknown has been added to the equation, as the event
celebrates its twentieth consecutive year on the Formula 1
calendar: it has been incredibly cold, with temperature
barely getting into the twenties, whereas usually Budapest
is one of the hottest races of the year with temperatures
often reaching the 40 degrees mark. Naturally, Bridgestone
and their rival have both brought tyres to deal with much
hotter weather and, adding to the complexity of evaluating
the behaviour of the cars, heavy overnight rain has left the
track surface even "greener" than usual.
However, whatever the conditions, it is always good to top
the time sheet and that is exactly what Felipe Massa did
today. The Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver was the only man
to dip below the 1m 22s this afternoon, having not run at
all in the morning hour. Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo
Fisichella were second and third fastest respectively for
Renault, followed Red Bull's Friday driver, Robert Doornbos.
Fifth was another third driver, Anthony Davidson for Honda,
with Ralf Schumacher completing the top six for Toyota. His
brother Michael took the 248 F1 to eighth spot behind the
second Toyota of Jarno Trulli. Usually the Friday time sheet
has been topped by Robert Kubica in the BMW-Sauber. But not
today, because this weekend he makes history by becoming the
first Polish driver to compete in a grand prix, as he stands
in for the injured Jacques Villeneuve.
Jean Todt:
"Here we are in Budapest where both the layout and the
characteristics of the track surface are very reminiscent of
the Monaco street circuit. Today's two hours of free
practice revolved mainly around evaluating the Bridgestone
tyres and, secondly, on car set-up. As usual, this track
should evolve bit by bit as rubber gets put down on the
racing line. It is up to our engineers and those at
Bridgestone to carefully analyse the data to make the best
choices for qualifying and the race."
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Michael Schumacher: "It is always hard to judge the
results on Friday. We need to take a close look at
the data to get a clearer picture of the situation.
We spent a long time on track in the second hour and
I was not able to keep an eye on what the other
drivers were doing." |
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Felipe Massa: "Today, as usual, we have worked on
evaluating the tyres and on finding the best set-up car for
the car. The track is very dirty and so it was very
difficult to drive. We will have to look at all the
information we have very carefully to make the right choices
for qualifying and, even more importantly, for the race." |
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Felipe Massa: "Today, as usual, we have worked on
evaluating the tyres and on finding the best set-up car for
the car. The track is very dirty and so it was very
difficult to drive. We will have to look at all the
information we have very carefully to make the right choices
for qualifying and, even more importantly, for the race."
Michael Schumacher: "It is always hard to judge the
results on Friday. We need to take a close look at the data
to get a clearer picture of the situation. We spent a long
time on track in the second hour and I was not able to keep
an eye on what the other drivers were doing. Overall, we can
say that our car-engine-Bridgestone tyre package is good,
but we don't know how competitive are the others. The low
temperature is not a problem: the key is to choose the right
tyre for qualifying and the race. Naturally, we hope to be
at the front of the grid and I think we have a good chance
of doing just that."
Ross Brawn: "It was quite a difficult day as track
conditions were still very green with not much rubber down
and lower temperatures than usual for this time of year.
This meant the tyres could not operate at their best and
therefore, we have to make our tyre choice mainly based on
how we predict the track could evolve. We did not work so
much on the cars, concentrating on the tyre choice. What is
clear is that there is a lot of work to be done to find the
best way of improving the overall performance of the package
we have, in terms of preparing for Sunday's race."
Free practice - First session: Michael Schumacher: 3rd
1.22.499 5 laps chassis 254; Felipe Massa: - - - chassis
252; Temperatures: air 17/18 °C, track 20/24 °C
Free practice - Second session: Felipe Massa: 1st 1.21.778
12 laps chassis 252; Michael Schumacher: 8th 1.23.931 19
laps chassis 254; Temperatures: air 19 °C, track 24 °C
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