Engine blow for Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen suffered a shattering blow to his world title bid after sustaining an engine failure for the second successive grand prix weekend.
Only a week ago, the Mercedes engine on Raikkonen’s McLaren blew in Friday practice for the French Grand Prix, resulting in the Finn being subsequently demoted the mandatory 10 places down the grid following qualifying.
But Raikkonen, who currently trails world championship leader Fernando Alonso by 24 points in the drivers’ standings, staged a stunning recovery from 13th at Magny Cours to finish as runner up by the end of the race to the Spaniard.
The 25-year-old’s run of misfortune, though, struck again just seven minutes into the final practice session at Silverstone, with Raikkonen pulling over at Club and he again faces a 10-place grid penalty once this afternoon’s qualifying has concluded.
Raikkonen was due to start tomorrow’s British Grand Prix as the red-hot favourite, but will again have to pull off another stunning drive if he is to finish on the podium.
David Coulthard’s preparations were also thrown into disarray after he too suffered a miserable end to practice in his Red Bull Racing car.
Coulthard’s retirement came with 15 minutes of the 45-minute session remaining, with the Scot finishing down in 17th and over three seconds off pacesetter Alonso.
The Spaniard clocked a time of one minute 20.077 seconds for the 3.194 mile circuit, pipping Raikkonen’s McLaren team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya by five hundredths of a second.
The Toyotas of Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher finished third and fourth, with home hope Jenson Button again in the thick of the action as he was fifth in his BAR, almost seven tenths down, followed by the second Renault of Giancarlo Fisichella and the Ferrari of reigning world champion Michael Schumacher.
The Jordan of Tiago Monteiro will also require an engine change as smoke billowed out of the back of his car late on, which means the Portuguese driver will almost certainly start at the back of the grid tomorrow given the penalty.
The penultimate session earlier in the day had seen Raikkonen head Alonso by half a second, with Button third on that occasion.
As is customary with the first session in Saturday morning practice, it was cat and mouse and with only 15 minutes remaining just four cars had completed a timed lap, such was the apparent disinterest among the drivers.
The overcast conditions, with grey cloud dominating on a cool morning, contributed to the early lethargy that only lifted as the clock wound down.
It was in the final quarter of an hour that Michael Schumacher was seen slowly touring round Woodcote at one point, seemingly egging on his Ferrari before it finally picked up speed again.
There was also team-mate Rubens Barrichello taking an excursion off the track coming out of Becketts, while Coulthard spun through Chapel.
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