McLaren Continues to Struggle

By Parminio
April 2 2004

Rubens Barrichello took the top spot today in Friday's final free practice session. Kimi failed to get in a hot lap, and David wound up pushing his McLaren by his lonesome out of harms way.

McLaren's woes continued in Friday practice today with Kimi Raikkonen having what could best be described as a power plant meltdown, and David Coulthard having a tire disintegrate in the middle of a turn sending him reeling into the sand.

It's been a dismal if not disastrous start to the season for McLaren, and things seem to be getting worse. Kimi will apparently have to take a 10 position penalty when his engine is replaced. Add that to the poor pace of the MP4-19, and at best he's looking at 16-18th on the grid for the start of the race. David meanwhile could get in a position to score some points if he can get a good qualifying run in, which to date has not been his forte.

In other news, BAR once again looked good as Button and Sato both had very good times, and the car looked strong. Ferrari once again took the P1 slot, but this time with Rubens taking it.

The sand at the circuit seems to be causing some pretty big problems for everyone however. During the practice, it seemed as though everyone spun at least once. Even Michael Schumacher became a victim. Any time a car put so much as a tire off, tons of sand were tossed onto the track making it an adventure for whoever the next driver to come through was. It's going to make for a very interesting race.

One can only hope as a McLaren fan that attrition will yield some desperately needed points. Given the lack of pace, and Kimi's third failure in as many appearances, it doesn't look good.