Coulthard takes charge in Brazil second practice

The pit exit opened with the weather still fine for the second free practice of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, temperature rising to 39C. There were a few cars out on track initially to judge the conditions, Takuma Sato spun in the Jordan as did ...

The pit exit opened with the weather still fine for the second free practice of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, temperature rising to 39C. There were a few cars out on track initially to judge the conditions, Takuma Sato spun in the Jordan as did Jarno Trulli in the Renault, the track still proving quite dirty. Rubens Barrichello posted second fastest early on for Ferrari but nearly a second off Michael Schumacher in the F2002 of the previous session.

David Coulthard.

Photo by DaimlerChrysler.

McLaren and BAR improved early on with Kimi Raikkonen up to fifth and Jacques Villeneuve up to tenth, while Renault's Jarno Trullli stalled at the pit exit to end his session. Jordan's Takuma Sato was penalized by the stewards for exiting the pit lane under a red light, he will lose his best qualifying time in forfeit. Villeneuve improved to fifth, a slight resurgence for BAR, while Giancarlo Fisichella continued his form from the first practice, setting the third fastest time.

David Coulthard took the top of the times for McLaren as Minardi, Jaguar and Toyota had little result at the back of the field along with Arrows' Heinz-Harald Frentzen, team mate Bernoldi up in eleventh. Sauber's Felipe Massa set fifth fastest and Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya third. Barrichello had yet another spin, pushing the car a bit too hard it seemed while Mark Webber coaxed his Minardi into 15th, a very fine effort.

Villeneuve continued to do well, setting the fourth fastest time half way through the session, team mate Olivier Panis a passable eleventh. Toyota's Allan McNish popped up into sixth, just behind Jenson Button's Renault, the Englishman keeping up his form from Malaysia. Montoya hurtled up to second while Barrichello put the Ferrari F2001 into a creditable fifth, Panis finding enough strength to put his BAR into tenth.

Minardi, Jaguar and Arrows were at the bottom of the times, along with Renault's Jarno Trulli as the activity tailed off. McNish improved to third, a big boost for Toyota, until he spun into the gravel. De la Rosa also had a spin as the track temperature rose to 42C. Raikkonen headed the McLarens with fifth, again, with five minutes to go. Michael Schumacher had a big off, bringing out the yellow flags, final top six classification: Coulthard, Montoya, McNish, R Schumacher, M Schumacher, Raikkonen.