Barrichello fastest, Arrows stay grounded
Rubens Barrichello led a Ferrari one-two on Friday in British Grand Prix practice overshadowed by Arrows' fight for their Formula One survival.
The orange liveried cars were conspicuous by their absence, remaining parked in the garage throughout the day as their rivals ventured out tentatively in the rain and blinding spray at Silverstone.
Arrows overcame one key hurdle however, passing scrutineering a day late after their cars failed to turn up on Thursday.
The engines were then silenced again, the team's Cosworth suppliers refusing to let them run until they received some $4.7 million in late payments.
An Arrows spokeswoman said team boss Tom Walkinshaw had been in talks with other principals and Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone since the early morning.
While drivers Heinz-Harald Frentzen of Germany and Brazilian Enrique Bernoldi cooled their heels and waited, they were joined in the first session as spectators by Ferrari's world champion Michael Schumacher.
The German spun on his second timed lap and came to a halt, his Ferrari eventually coasting to a safe parking place before the four times champion clambered out.
Schumacher, who leads the championship by a massive 46 points from brother Ralf after nine rounds, made up the lost time in the afternoon with the second fastest time -- 0.424 slower than Brazilian team mate Barrichello.
MISTAKE
"This morning I made a mistake and then spun," said Michael Schumacher. "After that, we then faced an issue because the engine stalled which usually doesn't happen."
Technical director Ross Brawn said the engine management software had cut the engine due to "a combination of unusual circumstances."
Barrichello, a renowned master in the wet and winner of the last race in Germany ahead of Schumacher, was quickest in both sessions and lapped in one minute 31.457 after improving his time in the afternoon.
There were three Britons in the top five by lunchtime but a sense of reality returned in the afternoon, with only Renault's Jenson Button left in the top 10.
Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, whose Jordan team's factory is next to the circuit, was third fastest in 1:33.434 ahead of Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya.
Japan's Takuma Sato was fifth in the second Jordan.
"We are quite confident about tomorrow," said Fisichella, looking forward to qualifying. "If it is wet, we could be on the third or fourth row although if it is dry we may find it difficult to reach the top 10."
Montoya, who has started on pole for the past three races without finishing any of them, suffered a blown engine after half an hour and with only five laps completed.
But he picked up the pace in the afternoon, while team mate Ralf still languished in 11th place.
"It was really slippery and I spun a few times," said the younger Schumacher. "From an aerodynamic point of view, we couldn't make any informed decision under such conditions."
BMW Motorsport director Mario Theissen said the engine failure would have to be analysed back at Munich headquarters to see what had gone wrong.
"As the engine continued running for quite a while after the problem appeared, we will not be able to find out the reason for the failure here at the racetrack," he said.
