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Friday Flyer Faster Than F1 Familiars

Written by Allan Brewer · June 30, 2006

Test driver Anthony Davidson of Honda led both practice sessions June 30th at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as Formula One teams began preparations for United States Grand Prix qualifying and race.


Honda reserve driver Anthony Davidson lapped the 13-turn, 2.605-mile IMS F1 road circuit in 1 minute, 12.013 seconds (130.222 mph) during the second session of practice to post the top lap of the day on Friday. He also recorded the fastest lap of the first session, 1:12.083 seconds (130.095 mph) under fair skies and temperatures near 27 degrees C.

“It was an eventful day. I ended both sessions P1, so that is always good.” he said. It was pretty effortless, really. When the car works well, it always is.”

Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher was fastest of the rest of the field on Friday with a best lap of 1:12.458 seconds (129.422 mph). Schumacher, a four-time winner of the USGP, set the lap early in the first practice session, then promptly spun off the course in Turn 4 after a total of only three practice laps. The incident required his car to be returned to pit lane on a flatbed truck following the session. The car did not appear to suffer any significant damage.

“I am happy with what we have seen on the track. The car’s situation looks pretty good, which means we can tackle the rest of the weekend with confidence.” he concluded later. Aside from Schumacher’s spin there were no major incidents in either session today.

Behind Davidson and Schumacher on the day were BMW Sauber test driver Robert Kubica in third at 1:12.809 seconds (128.798 mph), Giancarlo Fisichella at 1:12.933 seconds (128.579 mph), and Rubens Barrichello at 1:13.090 seconds (128.303 mph) in the other Honda.

Team Renault and World Championship points-leader Fernando Alonso suffered a disappointing effort, finishing tenth in placement over the two sessions. “To be eighth or ninth on Friday is not what we did in the first half of the season. We know that this circuit is not perfect for our car’s handling characteristics, but nevertheless I think this car should be competitive here.” Alonso’s best lap of 127.632 mph was nearly a full second slower than teammate Fisichella’s mark.

He then added, “They (speaking of fast-improving McLaren/Mercedes) are improving and fighting with us the last few races, but our main worry is Ferrari. If Raikkonen wins the race, for us, it’s even better. We don’t care too much. The important thing is to take care about Michael (Schumacher) in the drivers’ championship and Ferrari in the constructors’ championship.”

“We know that this track will be difficult, and we confirmed today that the car is OK. Normally on Friday, we are second or third behind the test drivers, and today we are ninth or something, not as good as before. Tomorrow, when we put the engine and the new tires and everything on the track, we will be to the top, for sure.”

Renault’s assistant team manager Pat Symonds elaborated further on Alonso’s comments by remarking about the Michelin tires in use for the first time since the 2005 USGP. He stated he saw no concerns or reason for a recurrence of last year’s bizarre parade lap pull-out. “No, none really. We obviously only had a chance to look at the tires externally. They do look in good shape. On our cars, we’ve had no problems whatsoever in the laps we’ve done this afternoon. The guys who have been running third cars will have their tires cut up today, as we do at every weekend, but I’m not anticipating a problem this year.”

Fisichella also added reassuring words for race fans anxious about this year’s tire compound for Indy: “I was really comfortable. The car was consistent and quick, which is really important. Tire behavior was really good, too. So we are looking forward to tomorrow. We are so sorry about last year with the American people, but this year is going to be right.”

Californian Scott Speed was ninth in the first practice and 11th in the second. His day got off to a rocky start when his car faltered exiting pit lane at the start of the first session due to an electronics problem. He eventually took a seat in the Toro Rosso team’s third car for the day.

“We’re not looking too bad. We’re going to see on Sunday, but initial impressions aren’t too bad. It’s all dependent on fuel loads, engine modes and tires. The track is quite difficult for us because it’s so low-downforce here, and the infield is so tight and dirty that the cars slide around everywhere. It’s not particularly enjoyable to drive.” he said after his first laps around the circuit at speed. Speed is the first American driver to compete in a United States Grand Prix weekend since Eddie Cheever in 1989.

Combined results for both F1 practice sessions Friday are as follows:

1. (36) Anthony Davidson, Honda, 130.222 mph

2. (5) Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 129.422

3. (38) Robert Kubica, BMW, 128.798

4. (2) Giancarlo Fisichella, Renault, 128.579

5. (11) Rubens Barrichello, Honda, 128.303

6. (12) Jenson Button, Honda, 128.129

7. (6) Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 127.998

8. (39) Giorgio Mondini, MF1 Toyota, 127.888

9. (18) Tiago Monteiro, MF1 Toyota, 127.783

10. (1) Fernando Alonso, Renault, 127.632

11. (3) Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren Mercedes, 127.493

12. (21) Scott Speed, STR Cosworth, 127.261

13. (9) Mark Webber, Williams Cosworth, 127.257

14. (40) Neel Jani, STR Cosworth, 127.224

15. (16) Nick Heidfeld, BMW, 127.197

16. (20) Vitantonio Liuzzi, STR Cosworth, 127.181

17. (4) Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren Mercedes, 127.025

18. (17) Jacques Villeneuve, BMW, 126.970

19. (35) Alexander Wurz, Williams Cosworth, 126.639

20. (15) Christian Klien, RBR Ferrari, 126.581

21. (19) Christijan Albers, MF1 Toyota, 126.436

22. (22) Takuma Sato, Aguri Honda, 126.059

23. (8) Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 125.961

24. (10) Nico Rosberg, Williams Cosworth, 125.770

25. (14) David Coulthard, RBR Ferrari, 125.578

26. (37) Robert Doornbos, RBR Ferrari, 125.304

27. (7) Ralf Schumacher, Toyota, 124.931

28. (41) Sakon Yamamoto, Aguri Honda, 124.836

29. (23) Franck Montagny, Aguri Honda, 122.601

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