Ferrari's F2003-GA made a stunning debut during 1st qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The 2003 spec machine topped the timesheets in the hands of reigning World Champion Michael Schumacher, setting a fastest time of 1m 17.130seconds. Team-mate Rubens Barrichello was only one-tenth of a second slower suggesting Ferrari's decision to bring the F2003-GA to Barcelona may pay dividends this weekend.
Schumacher ended qualifying seventh-tenths of a second faster than championship rival Kimmi Raikkonen and eight-tenths faster than David Coulthard as both McLaren's struggled to keep pace. The only question remaining however is just how fast the new Ferrari may be with different tactics and strategies being played out over Friday and Saturday qualifying.
Despite the impressive performance by Ferrari it was Renault's Jarno Trulli who was the star of qualifying. The Italian split the two Ferrari's, a difficult task at the best of times that was made doubly hard by the closeness of the Ferrari times. Trulli, who is rumoured to be facing replacement by Jacques Villeneuve next season at Renault, answered his critics by setting second fastest time.
Top Ten Results from Barcelona qualifying 1:
1. M. Schumacher - Ferrari - 1m17.103s
2. J. Trulli - Renault - 1m17.149s
3. R. Barrichello - Ferrari - 1m17.218s
4. C. da Matta - Toyota - 1m17.443s
5. J. Button - BAR Honda - 1m17.613s
6. O. Panis - Toyota - 1m17.746s
7. M. Webber - Jaguar - 1m17.793s
8. K. Raikkonen - McLaren Mercedes - 1m17.862s
9. D. Coulthard - McLaren Mercedes - 1m18.060s
10. F. Alonso - Renault - 1m18.100s
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