Sato Fastest in First Qualifying - European GP
Saturday May 29th, 2004
By Will Gray
Takuma Sato finished fastest in the first qualifying session for the European Grand Prix when he bettered the time set by German World Champion Michael Schumacher late in the session.
Japanese driver Sato, driving for BAR-Honda, set the fastest time of the weekend with a lap of 1:27.691 to finish 0.587 seconds ahead of Schumacher, after the Ferrari driver had looked set to finish well clear of the pack.
Ralf Schumacher, of Williams-BMW, finished third, 0.964 seconds off the pace, and the session was red flagged briefly after Scot David Coulthard stopped out on the track on his cool-down lap having set the fourth fastest time.
Coulthard was helped by marshals, who pushed his car off the track after a plume of smoke had signalled the end of his run, but he was left with little chance of taking the second session.
Briton Jenson Button finished fifth fastest in the second BAR, 1.125 seconds slower than his teammate, with Finn Kimi Raikkonen sixth for McLaren and Rubens Barrichello seventh in the second Ferrari.
Spaniard Fernando Alonso, of Renault, beat Colombian Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya to eighth place and Frenchman Olivier Panis completed the top ten runners in his Toyota. |
