Michael Schumacher topped the timesheets this session
on his final run ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher. Rubens
Barrichello was fourth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Heinz Harald
Frentzen.
Michael's time was over 2.3 seconds faster than the best
time set during this session last year and even though the track has been
slightly modified, the cars are certainly a lot faster this year.
There were only a few minor spins during the session with
Raikkonen and Coulthard spinning. Ralf Schumacher had little track time as he
remained in the pits while the mechanics worked on a problem with his car.
Michael Schumacher covered the most number of laps with 20
followed by both Takuma Sato and Allan McNish with 18 laps each. Felipe Massa
only managed 8 laps while Ralf Schumacher covered just 9. All other drivers
covered between 10 and 17 laps.
At this stage, it appears that the Ferraris and Williams'
are in a league of their own with McLaren, Sauber and BAR fighting for the 3rd
row. There is one more session to go before qualifying but it certainly looks
as if the fight for Pole will be between Ferrari and Williams.
