FORMULA ONE/San Marino Grand Prix: Formula One, usually defined by its glamour quotient, by exotic locations and by the presence of celebrities, is this weekend in Imola shaping up to be characterised by a somewhat more prosaic variable.
Tomorrow's San Marino Grand Prix could, quite simply, be a tale of two tyres.
In the broiling heat of Brazil two weeks ago, it was Michelin, suppliers to Williams and McLaren, who blazed the trail, leaving the tyre of Japanese rivals Bridgestone looking, well, a little flat. Only a sublime race from Michael Schumacher saved Bridgestones blushes on race day, the German braving a one-stop strategy and grinding greatness out of his under-performing rubber. But it flattered Bridgestone. To find the next Bridgestone finisher you had to run your finger down to 10th, where sat a forlorn Takuma Sato of Jordan, laps down on the leaders.
Yesterday in Imola the competitive polarity was reversed. In conditions usually reserved for a power-boat race, Bridgestone bounced back and surprisingly it was Jordan who profited most. Giancarlo Fisichella yesterday enjoyed a rare good day out in the EJ12, underlining not only his ability in the wet but, more crucially, the superiority of Bridgestone's Imola tyres as he clocked the third quickest time of the day.
Outpaced only by twin Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and by a hair's breadth by Rubens Barrichello, Fisichella was some six tenths of a second quicker than his nearest Michelin-shod rival - fourth-placed David Coulthard of McLaren.
With temperatures barely scraping into double figures yesterday and with cold, wintry rain prevailing, Michelin slipped back to their wayward cold-weather ways of last year and once again the Ferraris look in alarmingly quick form. The bad news for Williams and McLaren is that the unseasonal rain is not expected to stay away in either qualifying or in Sunday's race.
Fisichella admitted yesterday the performance of his wet-weather Bridgestones was a real bonus in the weekend's early sessions. "I'm pleased with how free practice went today and clearly the wet and cold conditions here in Imola suit our package very well, and we're lot more competitive," said the Italian. "The conditions on the track were very difficult but I don't mind driving in the wet at all and would be happy if it stayed wet during qualifying. If it does I believe we can qualify in the top six."
Team-mate Takuma Sato ended the day in 11th place. The Japanese driver, who stormed to last year's British F3 title with a sequence of wet-weather wins, is reckoned to be at his best on a damp circuit.
"I felt very comfortable with the car in full wet conditions first thing this morning," said Sato. "But as the track dried out I found things a lot more difficult as it was hard to get traction and braking stability."
Jordan are unlikely to hold their advantage over either the much quicker McLarens or Williams pilots but the quality of the Bridgestones could aid the Irish squad in keeping at bay the resurgent Renaults of Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button. The increased potency of the uprated Honda RA002E, which will be run for the first time this afternoon, could also vault the Irish team up the grid.
Head of race and test team engineering Gary Anderson confessed rain in the one-hour shoot-out would be a boon. "I would like to see the same conditions we had today in qualifying, when we'll be running the new spec engine and then maybe we could do well in a dry race on Sunday."
Michael Schumacher admitted the conditions were playing into Ferrari's hands. "The car worked very well all day and I'm pretty happy with its handling, even if I did spin at the end of the session," he said. "In these conditions the Bridgestones have always seemed very strong and if it stays like this we could have the advantage."
