Five-time world Formula One champion Michael Schumacher posted the fastest time today in the first practice for the Italian Grand Prix as he looks to break another record this weekend.
Five-time world Formula One champion Michael Schumacher posted the fastest time today in the first practice for the Italian Grand Prix as he looks to break another record this weekend.
On a cool and cloudy day Schumacher's Ferrari timed 1min 22.433sec over the 5.793km circuit just ahead of teammate Rubens Barrichello.
On Sunday, Schumacher will be looking to break a season points record - he currently has 122 points and is just one shy of 123, a record for modern times.
Although scoring systems have changed throughout the years, it would be hard to top his 10 victories, three seconds and a third as he clinched his fifth world title in July.
In practice today, he was ahead of Barrichello's 1:22.658 although the Brazilian sat out most of the morning session.
Finland's Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren was third in 1:23.016 ahead of Eddie Irvine in a Jaguar in 1:22.460.
Juan Pablo Montoya of Williams was fifth in 1:23.584 after being second in the morning session to Schumacher.
Schumacher and Barrichello are also looking to continue Ferrari's supremacy as have gone one-two in seven of the 14 races this year and they want to repeat that performance in the final standings with three races left.
Barrichello, with two victories, is currently second in the standings with a seven-point margin over Montoya.
David Coulthard, still with an outside chance of second spot, had a forgettable day in his McLaren as he was fined 8,500 dollars for speeding in the pits in the first minute of the morning session and then spun out early in the second session.
Meanwhile the cash-strapped Arrows team is not competing for the third race in a row and fourth in last five as they continue its efforts in trying to sell the team.
The sports governing body, the FIA, said it lacked hard evidence that the team is insolvent and is waiting to see how various negotiations and proceedings will turn out.
While Arrows is not racing, Malaysia's Alex Yoong is back in the Minardi car after being replaced by Anthony Davidson for two races.
Yoong returns to the track where he made his Formula One debut last year. He came in 20th and last in the free practice on Friday with a time of 1:26.365 just behind his more-experienced teammate Mark Webber who clocked 1:26.162.
Times after first practice for the Italian Grand Prix, Monza:
1Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari One Minute 22.433 Seconds
2Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Ferrari at 0.225
3Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren at 0.583
4Eddie Irvine (Gbr) Jaguar at 1.027
5Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) Williams at 1.151
6Mika Salo (Fin) Toyota at 1.492
7Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Williams at 1.682
8Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) Jaguar at 1.750
9Jarno Trulli (Ita) Renault at 1.925
10Jenson Button (Gbr) Renault at 1.963
11Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Jordan at 2.196
12Jacques Villeneuve (Can) British American Racing at 2.400
13Felipe Massa (Bra) Sauber at 2.496
14Takuma Sato (Jpn) Jordan at 2.557
15Olivier Panis (Fra) British American Racing at 2.594
16David Coulthard (Gbr) McLaren at 2.611
17Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Sauber at 3.108
18Allan McNish (Gbr) Toyota at 2.113
19Mark Webber (Aus) Minardi at 3.729
20Alex Yoong (Mal) Minardi at 3.932
AFP