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SEPANG, Malaysia -- The one-engine, two-weekend rule in Formula One flunked its first test. Authorities are tweaking new regulations before Sunday's
Malaysian Grand Prix to close a loophole BAR-Honda exposed in the
opening race of the season in Australia. Jenson Button and teammate Takuma Sato retired on their last
laps in Melbourne, allowing them to use new engines without
incurring a penalty of losing 10 places on the starting grid in
searing Sepang. The other teams started practice Friday with the same engines
they finished with at Albert Park almost two weeks ago. FIA, the sport's governing body, amended the rules this week to
specify that in future unscheduled engine changes will be allowed
only if the driver fails to finish the first race of a two-race
combination because of an accident, not for purely tactical
reasons. "As a result of what happened on the last lap of the race in
Melbourne a distinction will now be made between failing to finish
and choosing not to finish,'' FIA said in a statement. Sauber's Felipe Massa set the fastest time in the second free
practice session Friday, while McLaren pair Juan Pablo Montoya and
Kimi Raikkonen were both inside the top four. The 23-year-old Brazilian clocked 1 minute, 35.608 seconds,
0.012 ahead of Montoya and 0.069 clear of Toyota's test driver
Ricardo Zonta. Raikkonen, who spun into the gravel at turn 8 on his first run,
returned late in the session with 1:35.719. Toyota's Ralf
Schumacher was fifth fastest in the afternoon session, 0.230
seconds behind Massa. McLaren was quickest in practice at the Australian GP two weeks
ago but it didn't translate into the GP because Montoya and
Raikkonen were caught in a downpour that marred the opening
qualifying session and cost them valuable places on the starting
grid. Renault pair Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso, first and
third in Australia, drove only two laps each in the first practice
session in Malaysia and returned to post the sixth and ninth
fastest times in Friday's second session. Defending champion Michael Schumacher, who crashed out of the
Australian GP after being drenched in the qualifying session the
previous afternoon, was back in 16th in practice at Malaysia's
Sepang circuit. The seven-time world champion skidded off at turn 9
on his last run but regained control to finish the lap. His Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello, who made up nine places
to split the Renaults on the podium in Melbourne, spun into the
gravel at turn 11 on Friday but returned to record the seventh
fastest time. Jenson Button, taking advantage of a now-closed loophole in the
new engine regulations, was eighth with a new motor in his
BAR-Honda. FIA will now require the team of any driver who fails to finish
the first of two races to explain the circumstances surrounding the
retirement. Fisichella won in Melbourne after a downpour caused major
problems for most of the leading contenders in qualifying. He says
his race car will be in good condition in Sepang because it wasn't
heavily taxed in Melbourne. He virtually had the Australian Grand Prix wrapped up after the
first session of the new two-day qualifying format _ which combines
times for Saturday and Sunday runs to determine places on the
starting grid. After ensuring pole position, Fisichella really needed only to
be first to the first turn then hold off the competition to win the
season-opening race. None of the other drivers had the luxury of being so
conservative. Barrichello and Alonso worked hard to come from the back half of
the grid to finish second and third. Alonso had the fastest lap of
the weekend. Button and Sato finished 11th and 14th in Melbourne after
retiring when it was obvious they wouldn't score points. BAR officials said it was a reasonable interpretation of the
rules. Teams used Friday's practice sessions primarily to test tires
and set ups for their racers. In the morning session, the test drivers dominated with the
three fastest times. Zonta was quickest in 1:34.092 -- the fastest
lap of the day -- followed by Pedro de la Rosa of McLaren and Red
Bull's Vitantonio Liuzzi. Two further practice sessions will be held Saturday before the
first of two qualifying runs. The second qualifying session is Sunday -- on race day -- with the
times from each run combined to determine starting positions for
the GP.
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