But Michael's day wasn't as bad as that of his brother, Ralf, who crashed during Saturday qualifying, causing a red flag. While Ralf was all right, his
Toyota was not and he clocked no time. Schumacher hit the guard rails in the Tabac sector, first on the left hitting the left front wheel, and then bouncing back across track to hit the right front wheel into the barrier, ripping off both right wheels. Two other tires were damaged goods. He didn't qualify, needless to say. That's not to say he completing the lap would have helped him get a better starting position. Ralf was due to have a half-second penalty added to his combined qualifying time because he ran an unallocated tire Thursday. He is not having a good weekend. It will be interesting to see if Ralf even tries to qualify Sunday morning. At this point, what does he have to gain?
Toyota wasn't having a good weekend either. After Ralf's accident, the next driver to qualify was his team-mate, JARNO TRULLI, who had to work his way through the aftermath, even after clean-up. There was all that oil dry on the track. Even with special cleaning equipment and marshals working feverishly, it still wasn't Trulli clean. And he was going out on cold tyres, so to speak, as he had to sit out the cleanup in his garage. Trulli's tentative trekking through Tabac cost him and he qualified seventh.
The weather forecaster wasn't as accurate as announced, so Saturday's qualifying weather was better than expected - warm and dry. Originally, rain was forecast for Sunday's race. Wait and see.
Sunday morning
Formula One qualifying could become a thing of the past. Reportedly, all ten teams agreed to change the system to go back to one qualifying session on Saturday for the remainder of this season. It was a compromise solution until a new one can be worked out and agreed upon by all, something not easily done these days given the political climate.
