Formula One news
Williams 1-2 in much-delayed final practice
17 October 2009 / Results / PhotosThe Williams cars of Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima finished a red-flagged final practice as the quickest pair at Interlagos. With the session having been cut short by over 40 minutes due to heavy rain, it was stopped again in the closing stages after Romain Grosjean's Renault flew off the circuit.
With gusty winds already blowing, it was a huge downpour just minutes before the start of Saturday practice which delayed proceedings in Brazil. With the FIA Safety and Medical cars having toured a water-logged circuit, FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting was forced to delay the session as the medical helicopter was grounded. Just minutes later, the weather forecasts were lost as the radar was struck by lightning.
With an 18-minute session eventually being all the drivers had to assess track conditions ahead of qualifying later this afternoon, the field struggled to achieve any reasonable pace as the first lap times failed to meet yesterday's best of Fernando Alonso by some 18 seconds.
Nico Rosberg was the man on top by the end of the hour, with a best effort of 1:23.182 for Williams, although a second spin for Romain Grosjean brought out the red flags just under 5 minutes before the end of the period; the Frenchman, who clipped the painted white line on the inside of the Subida do Lago corner, flew off the circuit and was lucky not to roll his car before coming into reasonably heavy contact with the barriers.
For the record, championship leader Jenson Button ended the shortened session in third position as rivals Rubens Barrichello and Sebastian Vettel languished in 14th and 15th. All drivers recorded lap times, as Kamui Kobayashi brought up the rear of a much mixed-up field.
Qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix begins at 2pm local time (BST -6 / GMT -7).
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