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With the AT&T
Williams team finishing Friday practice for the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix in
an encouraging fifth and ninth fastest Saturday's sixty minute practice
would get underway with the team hopeful of continuing their good form. The
initial pace was set by Glock followed by Trulli. Trulli had been one of the
drivers to complain about the bumpy nature of the new circuit.
As the session progressed Glock would improve his time, 1m:46.180, but it
would be Vettel who would move ahead of the Toyota driver with a 1m:45.679.
Massa would move into second with a 1m:46.040. Glock was now third followed
by Kubica, Raikkonen, Piquet, Alonso, Kazuki Nakajima, and in tenth Nico
Rosberg, 1m:46.995. Neither of the McLaren drivers had set a time with just
over half the session remaining. But Hamilton would change this by moving to
the top of the times with a 1m:45.637. Kovalainen was down in seventh,
1m:46.483. Both Kazuki and Nico had pitted but were now back out on the
track. They had dropped to now be in thirteenth and fourteenth. But Piquet
would move ahead of Hamilton with a lap of 1m:45.249.
Vettel was now third followed by Massa, Glock, Kubica, Raikkonen, and
Kovalainen. Coulthard had slowed early in the session with a gearbox problem
and had yet to set a time. Webber was currently the slowest with twenty
minutes remaining. Bourdais was moving up the order and was in ninth
followed by Button. On his first lap out of the pits Nico would improve and
move up to ninth, 1m:46.482. Bourdais would put in another improved lap
seeing him now in fifth, 1m:46.133. Webber would make a major jump up the
order moving into second with a 1m:45.450. Both Piquet and Hamilton had
pitted. Nico would return to the pits while Kazuki set an improved time to
be in twelfth, 1m:46.492.
Fifteen minutes remaining and one of yesterday's pace setters Alonso was
down in fifteenth. Raikkonen's session would come to an end when he spun his
car in sector two and would stall it after having missed his braking point
at Turn seven.
Fisichella would join Raikkonen but he would not simply stall his car, he
would make contact with the barrier at the Turn ten chicane. He had gone over the kerb and found his car flying
into the barrier causing heavy front end damage. Most of the field had now
pitted with ten minutes left in the session. With the final six minutes
starting most would come out for their practice qualifying runs and it would
be Button, most likely on a low fuel run, who would move into second,
1m:45.409. He would then pit. But Massa would move to the top of the times with a 1m:45.246.
Coulthard was back out with just minutes left in the session. Kubica was now
fourth, 1m:45.245, and Nico would also improve moving into third with a
1m:45.386. It was all changing rapidly as Hamilton moved fastest, 1m:45.119,
but was quickly passed by Alonso with a 1m:44.506. Nico was now fifth and
Kazuki eleventh, 1m:45.982. Coulthard was down in seventeenth. Hamilton
would pit as Bourdais moved into tenth, 1m:45.599. So with the end of the
session the order was Alonso from Hamilton, Massa, Piquet, Nico, Button,
Kubica, Webber, Vettel, Bourdais, Heidfeld, and in twelfth Kazuki.
Qualifying for the Williams team was looking fairly promising with both
Williams drivers continuing to show some good pace, in particular Nico who
should be able to make it into Q3. |