Formula One news
Alonso fastest in second Interlagos practice
16 October 2009 / Results / PhotosRenault's Fernando Alonso moved to the top of the timesheets as the second of three practice sessions took place at Interlagos. The Spaniard ended Friday at the front as, helped by a rain shower, Sébastien Buemi's Toro Rosso finished second from Rubens Barrichello. Other title contenders Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button ended up fifth and seventh respectively.
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| Felipe Massa will be waving the chequered flag on Sunday |
With Friday morning's 90-minute practice session in São Paulo having been hit by brief but heavy rain, more was to come - albeit with a shorter duration - later in the afternoon. As ambient temperatures hit no higher than 18°C (64°F) and a steady wind blew at Interlagos, figures for the track surface dropped to 24°C (75°F) as the rain descended upon the circuit with half an hour to go.
Before that, however, Buemi planted the Toro Rosso on the top spot and looked to remain there until Alonso's final effort of 1:12.314 came close to the 2008 pole position time of Felipe Massa. Rubens Barrichello, the only Brazilian in the field, made the top three as Practice 1 pace-setter Mark Webber was lowered to fourth.
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| Vettel dropped to seventh in the afternoon session |
With the track being damp at the start of the session following the earlier rain, a number of drivers were caught out; Kazuki Nakajima's Williams-Toyota ran wide at Turn 1, as did the works car of Jarno Trulli, with Sebastian Vettel and Heikki Kovalainen also suffering from smaller moments. Adrian Sutil also recovered after spinning the Force India in the second sector.
There were worse problems for Giancarlo Fisichella as the Ferrari driver attempted a practice start and stalled at the end of the pit lane; with a steep gradient back to the garages, the Italian was forced to walk back to the paddock in the rain and therefore miss the final 20 minutes of the period.
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| Championship leader Button makes the top five for Brawn |
Despite finishing fifth, championship leader Jenson Button strangely suffered from both understeer and oversteer, with the former being a particular problem on the track's tight and twisty infield section; a top five position will act as added confidence although the Englishman is likely to make further setup changes on Saturday morning.
A number of big names finished at the tail end of the field, notably both Ferraris as Kimi Räikkönen and Giancarlo Fisichella wound up 18th and 20th. The McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen also had a disappointing end to the session and lies just one place ahead of his compatriot.
The third and final practice session in Brazil will begin at 11am local time (BST -4 / GMT -3) on Saturday.
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