2005 FIA Formula One World Championship Round 4: San Marino Grand Prix - Friday Practice
22
April: Michelin off to a flying start as F1 returns to Europe
Michelin and its partner teams continue to set the
Formula One pace on the sport’s return to its European heartland. McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa lapped Imola in 1m 20.484s
during this afternoon’s free practice session and was also quickest this morning. Jenson Button (B·A·R-Honda), 2004 pole
position winner in San Marino, and Ricardo Zonta (Toyota) were second and third, to give Michelin a top-three clean sweep with as
many different teams. Six of Michelin’s seven partners featured in the top 12
Pace-setter Pedro de la Rosa was fined $5,000
this morning for exiting the pit lane while the red light – a signal that you may not proceed – was still showing.
Alexander
Wurz – standing in for the injured Juan Pablo Montoya at McLaren this weekend – is poised to start his first grand prix since
Malaysia 2000. The Austrian has taken part in 52 Formula One races, all for the Benetton team (now known as Renault). He obtained
his best result in 1997, when he finished third in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Red Bull Racing has created quite
an impression at Imola this weekend. The Austrian- owned team has unveiled a three-storey motorhome, the biggest in the paddock.
Jordan
reserve Robert Doornbos crashed at Acque Minerale during today’s second free practice session. The Dutchman was able to restart,
however, and limped back to the pits with a damaged nose wing.
Ferrari team-mates Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello
were seventh and eighth today as the defending world champion prepares for its first race of the season on home soil.
Michelin’s
day Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin motorsport director “It has been a very interesting start to the weekend and, once again,
it appears that several of Michelin’s partners will be extremely competitive. “For Imola we have developed a greater range of
tyre compounds than usual – two ‘primes’ and three ‘options’. This is in response to specific requests from our partner
teams, who are beginning to tune their chassis to a finer degree as they gain more experience of their current cars and the latest
tyre regulations. It is too early for any definitive decisions to have been taken, of course, but I anticipate that at least three
different types of Michelin will be on the grid. “Forecasters predict definite rain between now and the race – and that will
add an extra degree of uncertainty to proceedings. It is possible that the track will be very ‘green’ once again by Sunday, for
instance. It will be fascinating to see how things develop during the balance of the weekend. Whatever happens, though, it looks set
to be a very open and competitive race.”
