Monza, 12th September 2008

On the day that Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro announced that Kimi Raikkonen had extended his agreement with the team, so that he will wear the Ferrari red race suit until the end of 2010, the Finn set the fastest time of the day, while Felipe Massa, less happy with the behaviour of his F2008, was sixth. The predicted rain arrived with a vengeance this morning, turning much of the morning session into a complete washout, as the sky went black and thunder and lightning made for a very dramatic looking Monza. Because of the conditions, the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro drivers only completed five laps each, with Kimi ending up ninth fastest and Felipe, fourteenth, the last driver to be credited with a time. The afternoon session began on a damp track, but conditions improved as the sun made an appearance. Although all the teams tested here the week before the Belgian Grand Prix, the rain ensured the track conditions were very different. The BMW-Saubers were on good form today, with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld setting the second and third fastest times respectively. Series leader Lewis Hamilton was fourth fastest for McLaren-Mercedes ahead of the Williams-Toyota of Nico Rosberg. At the moment, the forecast for this area is that there could be more heavy rain tomorrow.