Last time Abdullah did the honour. F1 in Monaco is my all time favorite due to the beautiful sceanry and its extraordinary curved route which takes place on the ordinary roads of Monaco, in the middle of the city, allways remarkable to watch the cars zooming through those narrow route. Anyway enjoy this time again and I hope Shummi does not win again.
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines02/05/s9571.html
Practice report: Trulli stays in charge in Monaco 25 May 2002
Renault’s Jarno Trulli proved his Thursday pace at Monaco was no fluke by setting the fastest time in Saturday’s final practice ahead of qualifying for the famous race. Michelin runners again dominated with McLaren’s David Coulthard second from the Williams of Juan Pablo Montoya.
Ralf Schumacher was fourth fastest in the second Williams, ahead of the Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello. Michael Schumacher completed the top six after being forced to sit out much of the second session with technical problems.
Ferrari had been easily the quickest team in an uneventful first 45-minute session, but things changed in the second as their rivals pushed on in their preparations for qualifying.
Schumacher’s hopes of putting in the best time in the second session then ended less than halfway through. The world champion slowed dramatically and waved other drivers through as he crawled back to the pits. He did not emerge again as his engineers worked to solve a suspected hydraulics problem.
That left McLaren and Williams to battle it out for top spot, before Trulli jumped from 14th place to first with a flying lap in the final minute of the session. Renault team mate Jenson Button was seventh fastest.
There were several accidents during the second 45-minutes, the first being Jordan’s Takuma Sato. In only the eighth minute the Japanese rookie clipped the inside barrier going into Ste Devote, then went straight on into the outer armco, damaging the front of his car. Fortunately Jordan’s spare, should he need it, is set up for him.
“Just like Kimi, I clipped the kerb with the right hand side of the car and lost it. The damage doesn’t look too bad. At the moment they are fixing it,” the Japanese said.
Ten minutes later McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen had an identical incident at the same corner, putting him out of the session. It was his second accident in two days at Monaco and the Finn ended up 15th in the times.
Eddie Irvine was the next casualty with around 25 minutes gone. He lost the rear end of his Jaguar entering the swimming pool section, after a suspected left rear suspension failure, and slammed the back of it into the barriers.
Damage looked extensive and marshals rushed in to put out a small engine fire. It meant Irvine was left languishing at the bottom of the timesheets, while team mate Pedro de la Rosa fared little better in 16th place. “I am just happy I am not hurt,” was all the Ulsterman had to say on the matter.
Barely two minutes later Minardi’s Mark Webber went off just after the point of Irvine’s incident. However, the damage to the left side of his car looked relatively minor. The Australian rookie set the 20th best time, two places up on team mate Alex Yoong.
“It was just the wrong place,” the Australian said with a wry grin. “Luckily the car is not that damaged, the boys are fixing it. I will just stay out of trouble next time!”
As his Jordan team mate headed back to the pits on foot, Giancarlo Fisichella gave the team some encouragement by setting the eighth fastest time. Immediately behind him, Heinz-Harald Frentzen again looked strong for Arrows in ninth, with team mate Enrique Bernoldi not far off his pace in 14th.
Bridgestone runners Sauber were low in the order for much of the morning before late improvement. Rookie Felipe Massa led the way in ninth place, ahead of team mate Nick Heidfeld in tenth.
For BAR Olivier Panis recorded the 12th fastest time, despite the team having to fix a last-minute gear selection problem just before practice started. Team mate Jacques Villeneuve was unable to match the Frenchman, finishing the morning in 18th position.
Toyota came back down to earth following Allan McNish’s second place on Thursday. The Scot could manage no better than 17th place, four positions down on more experienced team mate Mika Salo. Both men were forced to make trips up the Ste Devote escape road during practice.
In contrast to Thursday’s somewhat dull and damp conditions, Saturday’s practice was conducted in glorious sunshine, with track temperatures of up to 29 degrees Celsius.