Renault will have the early advantage when they start the final race of the season after closing out the front row in qualifying at the Shanghai International Circuit on Saturday.
In what their rivals suspect was a lightly fuelled car, Fernando Alonso overcame a strong head-wind and a slow Shanghai track to take pole position for the season-ending Chinese Grand Prix. The Renault driver crossed the line with a 1:34.080 to beat his team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella by 0.321 seconds.
Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button will occupy the second row, with Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Schumacher behind them.
Qualifying Report: After the dust had settled on free practice, the two Mclarens were just ahead of the two Renaults, with David Coulthard posting a remarkable fifth place for Red Bull. The ambient and track temperatures were identical at 23C. However practice for the Porsche support race in between the sessions had made the track exceptionally slippy.
It was Takuma Sato out on track first after being excluded from last weekend’s race result. Taku found it difficult mastering the dusty, slidy circuit in his BAR-Honda and survived a wobble at Turn 3 to record a slow 1:37.083.
Juan Montoya had to fight his car round the track and it looked as thought the McLaren was finding it hard to get heat into the tyres, the onboard camera showing the tyres juddering - 1:35.188 for JPM who was not impressed with the track surface.
“It’s so slippery out there, it’s a joke,” he said. “With the Porsches out there first it makes it so difficult. My cumulative timer was going like a casino – it was going ‘clink clink clink clink’!”
Jarno Trulli didn’t race here last year after leaving the Renault team early to make way for Villeneuve for a couple of outings. Unlike Suzuka, Jarno Trulli managed a clean, mistake-free lap – a 1:36.044.
In what might be his last F1 race, Antonio Pizzonia put in a reasonable 1:36.445 watched in the pits by Nico Rosberg, who may well be in that seat next year.
Cristijan Albers fought for control of his Minardi all the way round his qualifying lap and finished with a 1:39.105, however the car was still in one piece at the end of it.
Narain Karthikyan had been 14th in Saturday practice, beating the Toyota of Ralf Schumacher in the process. When it mattered he delivered too, a 1:36.707 was faster than Sato. “For Narain that was an incredibly tidy lap,” said Jordan commercial director Ian Philips.
Robert Doornbos looked to put in a much quicker lap than Minardi team-mate Albers, but his final sector – mystifyingly - was a whole second slower, which gave him last place with a 1:39.460.
Tiago Monteiro’s Jordan also looked to be handling with evil intent, his lap was packed full of big moments. After a series of slides and missed apexes his 1:39.233 split the Minardis and was a massive two and a half seconds slower than Karthikeyan.
Jacques Villeneuve had a similarly torrid time in the Sauber, re-inventing the racing lines through most corners en route to a 1:37.788, slower than Karthikeyan.
Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello managed to set the fastest final sector of the session as he brought some control to his lap. He thought he was too fast into Turn 1 but still managed a 1:35.610 behind Montoya in provisional P2.
Felipe Massa put in a fast outlap as the track looked to be rubbering in at last. His 1:35.898 jumped Jarno Trulli and slotted behind Rubens.
Red Bull’s Christian Klien hit the kerb heavily early in his lap, and turns 2 and 3 looked ugly. A 1:36.472 was just behind Antonio Pizzonia on the timesheet.
Unlike the morning practice, Ralf Schumacher looked very quick in the second Toyota and Schu Junior managed a tidy lap of 1:35.723 to slot in behind Barrichello.
Brother Michael went straight on at Turn 1, but only lost two tenths to Montoya’s time in the first sector. His trademark controlled aggression was best suited to the tricky conditions and his 1:35.310 was second quickest but should really have been the quickest but for his first corner mistake.
David Coulthard had been very quick in morning practice and he held it together round the Shang circuit putting in a 1:35.428 for Red Bull and splitting the two Ferraris. Juan Montoya had predicted he would have been about 8th when the session ended, but with five cars yet to run he was guaranteed P6 at least.
Jenson Button, still under the weather from suspected food poisoning on Thursday, set the timing screen purples with a fastest first and second sector and grabbed P1 off Montoya with an excellent 1:34.801.
The BMW-Williams was no match for the BAR-Honda and Mark Webber struggled for grip on his last qualifying lap of the season going wide into the hairpin and finishing with a disappointing 1:35.739.
Next out World Champion Fernando Alonso blitzed Button’s first sector time by almost 0.3 of a second. The Renault, unlike the previous runners (bar Button) looked to be running on rails. His 1:34.080 was way beyond anyone else’s time, even though he didn’t get the final turn quite right.
Renault team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella was quickest man so far in Sector 2 but had lost too much in Sector 1 and couldn’t match his team-mate. He crossed the line with a 1:34.401.
Finally, Kimi Raikkonen looked to be struggling with the handling of the Mclaren-Mercedes, making many mistakes on his hot lap and running wide in the final turn. Despite all this he was only fractionally short of Giancarlo Fisichella’s P2 time, finishing with a 1:34.488 and P3.
“I think the Renaults have gone light to get position on Kimi,” said Jenson Button who had been watching from his garage. “Alonso’s car looked much easier to drive than anybody else’s.”
So all eyes will be on the timing of the first pit-stops in the race tomorrow.
Renault’s chances of hanging on to the Constructors’ Championship depend a lot on how much fuel they have in the cars. And a Safety Car in the opening stint could be disastrous for them.
For McLaren it’s a question of being patient, something Kimi Raikkonen has proved he can do all season. Whether the same could be said for the man in P5 is another thing altogether.
FH
Times
1 F. Alonso Renault 1:34.080
2 G. Fisichella Renault 1:34.401
3 K. Räikkönen McLaren 1:34.488
4 J. Button BAR 1:34.801
5 JP. Montoya McLaren 1:35.188
6 M. Schumacher Ferrari 1:35.301
7 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:35.428
8 R. Barrichello Ferrari 1:35.610
9 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:35.723
10 M. Webber Williams 1:35.739
11 F. Massa Sauber 1:35.898
12 J. Trulli Toyota 1:36.044
13 A. Pizzonia Williams 1:36.445
14 C. Klien Red Bull 1:36.472
15 N. Karthikeyan Jordan 1:36.707
16 J. Villeneuve Sauber 1:36.788
17 T. Sato BAR 1:37.083
18 C. Albers Minardi 1:39.105
19 T. Monteiro Jordan 1:39.233
20 R. Doornbos Minardi 1:39.460
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Originally Posted by 6'bore
