from autosport.com

Alex Wurz topped the times on a dull and dreary start to the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday morning.

Grey skies and a sparse crowd greeted the drivers who took part in Friday morning's opening practice session for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit.

The dreary weather, humid and warm as well as overcast, seemed to hang heavily over the teams and there was no sign of any urgency to signal that this weekend's contest could prove decisive in the scrap for the world championship.

Both championship challengers, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher took no part in the session until the final minutues.

They both looked set to do preparation laps, leaving the battle for the top of the time sheet to Anthony Davidson in a Honda and Alex Wurz in a Williams, with the Austrian ending on top.

There were a few off-track excursions, contributed by Franck Montagny in his Super Aguri Honda, Wurz, Neel Jani in a Toro Rosso Cosworth, and Michael Ammermuller in his Red Bull Ferrari, but all regained the ashphalt.

Only in the closing minutes did the big names rise towards the top when Jenson Button clocked the third best time for Honda, ahead of Schumacher's Ferrari.

As if to brighten up the proceedings, Ferrari-bound Finn Kimi Raikkonen went out and spun his McLaren Mercedes at Turn 7, with only two minutes remaining, but he managed to regain control and complete his lap.

At the end, Wurz topped the times ahead of Davidson, Button and Schumacher, but there was nothing to be learned from the session that gave any clues to the outcome of the weekend or the championship.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Wurz Williams-Cosworth (B) 1:35.574 21
2. Davidson Honda (M) 1:35.591 + 0.017 26
3. Button Honda (M) 1:37.291 + 1.717 4
4. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:37.712 + 2.138 4
5. Jani Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M) 1:37.734 + 2.160 21
6. Premat Spyker MF1-Toyota (B) 1:37.787 + 2.213 24
7. Vettel BMW-Sauber (M) 1:37.913 + 2.339 24
8. Kubica BMW-Sauber (M) 1:38.062 + 2.488 6
9. Ammermuller Red Bull-Ferrari (M) 1:38.460 + 2.886 18
10. Montagny Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:38.464 + 2.890 19
11. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M) 1:39.000 + 3.426 6
12. Barrichello Honda (M) 1:39.217 + 3.643 4
13. Speed Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M) 1:39.428 + 3.854 7
14. Albers Spyker MF1-Toyota (B) 1:39.494 + 3.920 6
15. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:39.887 + 4.313 8
16. Monteiro Spyker MF1-Toyota (B) 1:39.947 + 4.373 7
17. Yamamoto Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:41.415 + 5.841 10
18. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:45.890 + 10.316 4
19. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (M) No time 1
20. Trulli Toyota (B) No time 2
21. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) No time 2
22. Coulthard Red Bull-Ferrari (M) No time 1
23. Doornbos Red Bull-Ferrari (M) No time 2
24. Alonso Renault (M) No time
25. Fisichella Renault (M) No time
26. de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes (M) No time
27. Massa Ferrari (B) No time
28. Webber Williams-Cosworth (B) No time
29. Rosberg Williams-Cosworth (B) No time


Alex Wurz topped the times again for Williams in Friday's second free practice session for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix, following up his morning showing with another fast effort in the afternoon.

Wurz clocked a best time of 1:35.539 to outpace nearest rival, German teenager Sebastian Vettel in a BMW Sauber by just 0.040 seconds.

As these two battled it out at the top of the timesheets, the two drivers' championship rivals, defending champion Fernando Alonso and seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, were content to clock the sixth and fifth best times respectively.

Briton Anthony Davidson in a Honda was third fastest and Brazilian Felipe Massa in the leading Ferrari was fourth ahead of the two title rivals, Schumacher in his Ferrari narrowly outpacing Alonso's Renault.

On an overcast, dull and dreary afternoon, in front of only a few fans scattered around the vast grandstands at the enormous Shanghai International Circuit, the two Ferraris were quickly to the fore.

The air temperature was 25 degrees and the track temperature was 27 degrees Celsius, when the action began and Massa swiftly established himself at the top of the times with a lap in 1:36.599 seconds.

Michael Schumacher soon joined him with the second best time of the session after only 12 minutes and thereafter it was a matter of seeing who was going to better these early times.

Alonso went close soon after with a lap that was within one tenth and by the time the field had settled down halfway through the session that was the unchanged order.

Alonso's Renault teammate Giancarlo Fisichella was fourth with a lap that was 1.1 seconds off the pace ahead of Australian Mark Webber in his Williams. Wurz, in his Williams, soon overhauled Webber.

Rain then began to fall and with 20 minutes remaining, the track was declared wet. This inevitably reduced the laptimes briefly in the closing minutes as a film of misty drizzle descended.

Tiago Monteiro in his Spyker MF1 Toyota went off and recovered at turn 16 before, with nine minutes to go, Vettel, 19, took over on top with a lap in 1:35.947.

This suggested that the track remained dry enough for continued use of normal 'dry' tyres and this impression was confirmed when Wurz went top, was overhauled again by Vettel and then recovered top spot.

The Austrian's best lap in 1:35.539 turned out to be the best of the session and brought Vettel's run of two successive Friday best times to an end.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Wurz Williams-Cosworth (B) 1:35.539 26
2. Vettel BMW-Sauber (M) 1:35.579 + 0.040 23
3. Davidson Honda (M) 1:35.714 + 0.175 30
4. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:36.599 + 1.060 8
5. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:36.641 + 1.102 12
6. Alonso Renault (M) 1:36.739 + 1.200 10
7. Montagny Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:37.278 + 1.739 26
8. Ammermuller Red Bull-Ferrari (M) 1:37.678 + 2.139 26
9. Monteiro Spyker MF1-Toyota (B) 1:37.698 + 2.159 13
10. Fisichella Renault (M) 1:37.718 + 2.179 12
11. Button Honda (M) 1:37.861 + 2.322 10
12. de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:38.022 + 2.483 9
13. Webber Williams-Cosworth (B) 1:38.045 + 2.506 6
14. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (M) 1:38.062 + 2.523 11
15. Premat Spyker MF1-Toyota (B) 1:38.098 + 2.559 26
16. Barrichello Honda (M) 1:38.276 + 2.737 16
17. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:38.888 + 3.349 14
18. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:38.959 + 3.420 11
19. Speed Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M) 1:39.080 + 3.541 18
20. Jani Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M) 1:39.118 + 3.579 28
21. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:39.179 + 3.640 4
22. Kubica BMW-Sauber (M) 1:39.217 + 3.678 5
23. Rosberg Williams-Cosworth (B) 1:39.522 + 3.983 15
24. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M) 1:39.570 + 4.031 20
25. Yamamoto Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:39.636 + 4.097 22
26. Coulthard Red Bull-Ferrari (M) 1:40.155 + 4.616 15
27. Doornbos Red Bull-Ferrari (M) 1:40.214 + 4.675 15
28. Albers Spyker MF1-Toyota (B) 1:40.319 + 4.780 14
29. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:41.315 + 5.776 9

No live Qualifying tommorow On after 3 in the afternoon instead

Well at least I will get some sleep for once

I'm glad it's on later cos I always sleep in till about 1pm on Saturdays.

Michael Schumacher topped the times for Ferrari in Saturday morning's final free practice session, ahead of Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion ended up just one tenth of a second clear of defending title rival Fernando Alonso in a Renault.

Both drivers clocked their best times in the closing frantic minutes of a session run in drying overcast conditions after steady rain during the earlier part of the morning.

Briton Jenson Button was third fastest for Honda.

After Friday's dreary overcast weather, Saturday's final practice took place in similar if not slightly wetter conditions.

The track temperature was a mere 23 degrees Celsius and the air temperature 24, a rare occurrence that was sure to signal difficulties for teams hoping to run on the softer-compound tyres.

The session saw little real early action with both Alonso and Schumacher taking no meaningful part. The Spaniard did one installation lap and the German stayed in his garage.

Scott Speed topped the times for Toro Rosso in the early running, but at the half-hour mark he was overhauled by Felipe Massa in his Ferrari.

The Brazilian was soon replaced as the fastest man by David Coulthard of the Red Bull team, then Coulthard's teammate Robert Doornbos, before the Scotsman regained the top spot.

Then, with six minutes remaining and on his first timed run, Michael Schumacher outpaced the field by two seconds to establish a new mark for the morning with a lap of 1:43.048. This indicated the serious part of the session had started for the leading runners.

In the frantic activity that followed in the closing five minutes, Sakon Yamamoto of the Super Aguri team and then Kimi Raikkonen, in his McLaren Mercedes, both spun off at Turns 8 and 7 respectively.

Schumacher meanwhile worked his time down to 1:41:259 to remain ahead of McLaren's Pedro de la Rosa and Spyker-MF1's Christijan Albers. On a drying circuit, it was difficult to work out who was delivering laps of significance.

Alonso, by this time, had done six laps and seemed content with a time that left him in the leading group, even if he was 1.1 seconds off Schumacher's pace until his final effort as the chequered flag fell.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:40.193 8
2. Alonso Renault (M) 1:40.365 + 0.172 7
3. Button Honda (M) 1:40.590 + 0.397 12
4. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M) 1:40.795 + 0.602 9
5. Speed Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M) 1:41.150 + 0.957 11
6. Webber Williams-Cosworth (B) 1:41.287 + 1.094 10
7. Albers Spyker MF1-Toyota (B) 1:41.463 + 1.270 11
8. Fisichella Renault (M) 1:41.691 + 1.498 6
9. de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:41.823 + 1.630 7
10. Coulthard Red Bull-Ferrari (M) 1:41.836 + 1.643 18
11. Rosberg Williams-Cosworth (B) 1:42.588 + 2.395 11
12. Monteiro Spyker MF1-Toyota (B) 1:42.612 + 2.419 14
13. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (M) 1:43.216 + 3.023 5
14. Barrichello Honda (M) 1:43.448 + 3.255 9
15. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:43.500 + 3.307 10
16. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:43.722 + 3.529 12
17. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:44.027 + 3.834 14
18. Doornbos Red Bull-Ferrari (M) 1:45.434 + 5.241 12
19. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:46.023 + 5.830 12
20. Yamamoto Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:46.850 + 6.657 10
21. Kubica BMW-Sauber (M) 1
22. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 2



World champion Fernando Alonso claimed pole position for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix with a bold performance in a rain-hit qualifying session on Saturday.

His Renault teammate Italian Giancarlo Fisichella took second place on the grid as the Michelin-clad teams took full advantage of their advantage in wet conditions.

Spaniard Alonso's title rival Michael Schumacher could only claim sixth place on the grid in his Ferrari.

Brazilian Rubens Barrichello was third ahead of his Honda teammate Briton Jenson Button after a session in which the Michelin tyres worked far better in the conditions than their rivals' Bridgestone.

Finn Kimi Raikkonen was fifth for McLaren Mercedes-Honda and his teammate Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa was seventh behind the retirement bound Schumacher.

Schumacher was the only driver running on Bridgestone tyres to finish in the top ten, but he had nothing to celebrate as Alonso secured his 15th pole.

After a dismal morning of intermittent drizzle, the afternoon qualifying session was run in steady rain.

The track temperature was only 22 degrees Celsius and the air temperature just 21.

The first part of qualifying was red-flagged to a halt when Portuguese driver Tiago Monteiro of the Spyker MF1 team stopped on the track at turn two, shortly after Finn Kimi Raikkonen had gone off and continued at turn 11 in his McLaren.

After a five-minute break, the session resumed and saw Australian Mark Webber also go off and on in his Williams before the chequered flag.

The drivers eliminated were the two Toyota men Italian Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher of Germany, the two Spyker-MF1 of Monteiro and his teammate Dutchman Christijan Albers and both Super Aguri drivers Japanese Takuma Sato and Sakon Yamamoto.

The second mini-session then began with a series of drivers struggling with the conditions as they sought to clock improved times.

The spinners included both Renault men, Alonso and Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, the Italian Toro Rosso driver Vitantonio Liuzzi, Pole Robert Kubica in his BMW Sauber, American Scott Speed in his Toro Rosso and Liuzzi again.

Both the Renault men went off at turn one, but recovered as team chief Flavio Briatore shook his head in anguish on the pit wall.

As the rain continued to fall, Brazilian Barrichello also spun off in his Honda, at turn one, but managed to recover control of his car and rejoin the fray.

By this time, it was clear that the conditions were favouring the Michelin-running cars as the timesheets were led by Alonso and Fisichella with Button and Barrichello filling the top four and the two Ferrari drivers struggling to make the top 12.

Schumacher was on track as the chequered flag fell to end the second session and, under pressure in the conditions with his Bridgestone tyres, he delivered a lap of 1:45.660 to claim eighth place. Massa failed to make the cut with the 13th best time.

The session therefore saw German Nico Rosberg and his Williams teammate Webber eliminated, Liuzzi and Massa along with Briton David Coulthard in his Red Bull and American Scott Speed in his Toro Rosso.

For Massa, it meant a starting spot on the back row of the grid because of his enforced engine change on Friday - a blow that in this weather could prove devastating for the Ferrari team and for Schumacher's bid for an eighth drivers' title.

Conditions deteriorated further for the final part-session and the air temperature fell to 19 with 90 per cent humidity as the cars filed out of the pitlane.

As usual, the real action was left for the final few minutes.


Chinese GP qualifying breakdown Session 1 Session 2 Session 3
Pos Driver Team Pos Time Lap Pos Time Lap Pos Time Lap
1. Alonso Renault M 1. 1:44.128 5 1. 1:43.951 6 1. 1:44.360 10
2. Fisichella Renault M 2. 1:44.378 4 2. 1:44.336 6 2. 1:44.992 9
3. Barrichello Honda M 12. 1:47.072 9 6. 1:45.288 8 3. 1:45.503 9
4. Button Honda M 6. 1:45.809 9 3. 1:44.662 9 4. 1:45.503 9
5. Raikkonen McLaren M 4. 1:44.909 7 8. 1:45.622 6 5. 1:45.754 9
6. M.Schumacher Ferrari B 14. 1:47.366 6 9. 1:45.660 9 6. 1:45.775 9
7. de la Rosa McLaren M 3. 1:44.808 6 5. 1:45.095 8 7. 1:45.877 9
8. Heidfeld BMW M 10. 1:46.249 8 4. 1:45.055 9 8. 1:46.053 10
9. Kubica BMW M 8. 1:46.049 8 7. 1:45.576 9 9. 1:46.632 9
10. Doornbos Red Bull M 11. 1:46.387 7 10. 1:45.747 8 10. 1:48.021 9
11. Speed Toro Rosso M 9. 1:46.222 8 11. 1:45.851 7
12. Coulthard Red Bull M 7. 1:45.931 8 12. 1:45.968 7
13. Massa Ferrari B 13. 1:47.231 6 13. 1:45.970 9
14. Liuzzi Toro Rosso M 5. 1:45.564 6 14. 1:46.172 9
15. Webber Williams B 16. 1:48.560 9 15. 1:46.413 9
16. Rosberg Williams B 15. 1:47.535 9 16. 1:47.419 9
17. R.Schumacher Toyota B 17. 1:48.894 9
18. Trulli Toyota B 18. 1:49.098 9
19. Albers Midland B 19. 1:49.542 9
20. Monteiro Midland B 20. 1:49.903 6
21. Sato Super Aguri B 21. 1:50.326 6
22. Yamamoto Super Aguri B 22. 1:55.560 7

Spyker-MF1 driver Christijan Albers has been sent to the back of the grid of the Chinese Grand Prix.

Albers was penalised after he failed to attend a call by race officials to weigh his car during qualifying.

The Dutchman had originally qualified in 19th position.

Not a bad result for Honda who seem to peform very well in the wet conditions

Don't think the Renaults will be beaten though if it does rain tomorrow...

Hello Gunge I mean justcause

gunge who

About to add a poll Gunge

are you speaking to yourself?

justcause110



You sound very familiar to someon who left a few weeks back

Did anyone realise something crawled onto Alonso's face

Actually last week.

Yes I got a name change only because justcause is the greatest game ever which owns GTA.

I returned because the whole "leaving" was too hard to keep. I was just too addicted to the forum and was thinking mostly about this forum.

We got new timetables at college anyways because we learned the first weeks were "induction weeks". So I'll probably be on every day apart from Tuesday where I come home at 5pm so might just want to chill.

Anyone else satying up with me to watch it

YOU FOOL!!!



Yeah ill be up but i aint staying up all night

If my spelliung gets worse its because I am tirted. haha

Anyone? Heh

it's. oh. so quiet
it'a oh. so still
you're all alone
and so peaceful until...

you fall in love
zing boom
the sky up above
zing boom
is caving in
wow bam
you've never been so nuts about a guy
you wanna laugh you wanna cry
you cross your heart and hope to die


Sleep deprivation weakens the immune system leaving us more susceptible to other diseases and disorders like diabetes, cancer and even the common cold. It is not uncommon for people who suffer from sleep deprivation due to sleep disorders - sleep apnea, narcolepsy, insomnia, etc. - to also suffer from other problems including diabetes, asthma or a second sleep disorder.

Sleep deprivation also causes much stress and, again, stress weakens our immune system - a double whammy. And both of these things, sleep deprivation and stress, can upset your mental processes. You may suffer from confusion, memory loss, irritability or emotional highs and lows. If you already have a mental disorder, sleep deprivation only adds to the problem.

I am tired so I wont bother reading the last 2 paragraphs.

Too many long and complicated words

To sum it up

Sleep deprevation makes you dead


And yes im still up

I know why Steve Rider and co were in the studio

They wanted to show off their new widescreen TV

Up now still Tom