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Formula 1 Store |
2002 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix
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Drivers Championship
Constructors
Championship Warm-up Session Report - ResultsThe morning warm-up session started with a very wet track in drizzly conditions. the track did not dry out during the session. All cars were on full wet tyres. During the warm-up session most drivers focus on those last minute adjustments to the car and last chance familiarisation with the track, checking for small differences in grip and surface conditions from the previous day. if there is time left they may put in a few fast laps but even those are cautious because the last thing they need is a rushed repair to a damaged car before the race. Massa was out early, probably anxious to get as many laps in to familiarise himself even further with the track, but it was not his day. His car slowed on the first lap and he limped back to the pits. Massa came out in the spare car a few minutes later only to repeat the performance. Whatever the problem was it affected both cars. Massa finally did get some good laps in and finished the session in sixth place, but he must be concerned. this is not a good time to have a problem. Michael Schumacher used the spare car for the first few laps of the session. as he did not seem to try very hard we must assume that it was only to ensure that the back-up car is in full working order and set up right. After changing to his race car he easily set the fastest lap of the session (1.41.509) 1.4 seconds faster than Barrichello who was second fastest. With the exception of a crash by Salo that seem to only damage his front wing which is easy to replace the rest of the session passed without any real excitement. Coulthard, in third, and Ralf Schumacher, in fourth, were over two seconds slower than Michael Schumacher. They were also approximately seven tenths of a second slower than Barrichello. Measuring up to Michael Schumacher, who is the absolute master in these conditions, may not be the best way of assessing the relative tyre performances but the fact that they were both considerably slower than Barrichello as well does indicate that Bridgestone still has the upper hand in wet conditions.
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