Schumacher sets pace again.
MICHAEL Schumacher's domination of the Formula One campaign continued in Barcelona as he powered to the quickest time in practice for the Spanish Grand Prix.The Ferrari driver, who leads the championship by 14 points after winning three of the opening four races, looks set to extend that advantage on the Circuit de Catalunya tomorrow.
Schumacher finished the opening day just 0.070sec ahead of Heinz-Harald Frentzen although the Arrows of his fellow German was probably running on fumes to get him round so quick.
Britain's Jenson Button was a more realistic third quickest in his Renault - just 0.3sec slower than Schumacher - as he launched his bid for a fourth successive points finish in promising fashion.
Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, who had been second quickest behind his fellow Ferrari driver in the first session, dropped to fourth fastest after the interval as he bid for another all-red front row in tomorrow's race.
Times from the opening day can be misleading but Schumacher could only have been boosted as all his closest rivals found themselves in the middle of the pack.
McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen was seventh while team-mate David Coulthard - 29 points adrift and all but out of championship contention this year - was back in 12th spot almost a second down on the title pacesetter.
Germany's Ralf Schumacher, second to his brother in the drivers' standings, was only 15th while team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya was two places worse off, seemingly backing up the fears that the Williams-BMW pair would struggle on this track.
Eddie Irvine was 11th fastest for Jaguar.
CAPTION(S):
EYES ON THE PRIZE Michael Schumacher focuses on the job in hand. PICTURE: Getty Images
 Printer friendly
 Cite/link
 Email
 Feedback
| |
| Title Annotation: | Sport |
|---|---|
| Publication: | South Wales Echo (Cardiff, Wales) |
| Date: | Apr 27, 2002 |
| Words: | 276 |
| Previous Article: | O'Sullivan tipping Milkins for the top. |
| Next Article: | Glam keen to repeat successful formula. |