It would have been a hard scene to imagine just a couple months ago: Jenson Button surrounded by a media crash in the Formula One paddock.
The long-haired driver with the British flag emblazoned on his helmet had never finished higher than fourth in 66 Grand Prix races entering this season.
Yet after two straight third-place results in the past two races and an unexpected first-place finish in Friday's practice session for the San Marino Grand Prix, there was the sport's newest star in the middle of a media crush.
PHOTO: AFP
"I'm very pleased with today's sessions because it's where we felt we could be coming into this weekend," Button said. "Having said that, it's still only practice rather than qualifying, so I don't want to make any predictions about the race result just yet. I do, however, expect us to be quick in qualifying."
Button and BAR Honda teammate Takuma Sato finished first and second ahead of Michael Schumacher's Ferrari in the afternoon practice session.
Schumacher, who won the season's first three races, established a new track record in the first practice session Friday morning.
The slower second session, however, in hotter temperatures at the same time of day that Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's race will be held, was a better indication for the rest of the weekend.
Button, who is right behind Ferrari's two drivers in the standings, covered the 4.933km Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit in 1 minute, 20.966 seconds. Japanese driver Sato followed in 1:21.159 and Schumacher was third in 1:21.164.
At 24, Button seemed destined for permanent journeyman status after racing for three different teams in his first four years in F1.
Billed as the new English hope and heir to Nigel Mansell after a debut with Williams-BMW in 2000, Button never quite lived up to expectations. He moved to Benetton and Renault before settling in 2003 with BAR.
"I had a very good couple of tests ahead of this race and the reliability we're experiencing during testing is paying off when we get to races," Button said. "Our strategy has paid off in the first three races and that, coupled with slick pitwork, is what will determine the outcome on Sunday afternoon. For now I'm just pleased that the team has made such a great start to the weekend with all three drivers."
Schumacher's Ferrari was backed into its garage a few minutes before the session finished. Teammate Rubens Barrichello remained on the track until the hour expired, however, but could not improve his 11th-place result as Ferrari appeared to struggle with its set-up in hotter temperatures.
"We had an interesting day. We were very quick in the mourning and a little bit slower in the afternoon," Schumacher said. "We had a clear picture of what set-up we required having tested at this track in the winter, but our competitors picked up their pace during the course of the day and I think the rest of the weekend will also be interesting.
"I think we can fight for the win on Sunday, but it will not be an easy task."
Button was fifth in Friday's first session in 1:22.448, far behind Schumacher's record time of 1:20.084.
The German driver, aiming for his sixth victory in Imola, took advantage of the cooler conditions to beat the old record of 1:21.091 that he set last year. The time was also better than the unofficial record he registered in testing earlier this season here.
Barrichello, who finished second to Schumacher in two of the first three races, was also second fastest in the morning session, in 1:21.443, followed by BMW Williams' Ralf Schumacher -- Michael's brother -- in 1:22.250.
BAR's third driver Anthony Davidson was fourth in the first session, and sixth in the afternoon.
Davidson was taking advantage of a new rule instituted for this season permitting the bottom six teams from 2003 to run three cars in Friday practice sessions.
The extra drivers are not allowed to take part in Saturday's qualifying or Sunday's race, but the information and experience they gather on Friday is a big help to their teammates in those sessions -- as evidenced by Button's performance, which was up to star billing Friday.
Organizers for the San Marino Grand Prix are anxiously hoping to sell their full allotment of 100,000 tickets and dissuade F1 officials from taking their race away.
More than half the tickets were sold by Friday and officials were counting on continued good weather and the Emilia-Romagna region's historic love for auto racing to fill the rest of the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit Sunday.
F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone said earlier this season that Imola would be eliminated to make room for new races in Turkey, India and other Asian countries.
Attendance has sagged at the past few editions of the race, despite Ferrari's success -- Michael Schumacher has won four of the last five races -- and the local affinity for auto racing.
However, as of Friday afternoon, officials said they had sold double the amount of tickets as at the same time a year ago.
SENNA SIDEPODS
The Minardi team will commemorate the 10th anniversary of Ayrton Senna's death in Imola with a tribute on the sidepods of its cars.
The word "Saudade" -- a Brazilian-Portuguese word conveying deep emotion that translates roughly as "missing you" -- will be pasted onto the cars.
The word was introduced to a worldwide audience in the wake of the Brazilian driver's death as the title of a tribute song created by British musician Chris Rea.
"During that week, I happened to see a Brazilian holding a cloth with the word `saudade' written on it," said Rea, who was one of Senna's many fans. "I couldn't find out what it meant. People told me there was no translation in English.
"Surprisingly, a British newspaper did an article on this very word, which explained that it vaguely meant a dignified sadness multiplied by a million -- tears that smile. The BBC asked for some music for Ayrton's tribute and the song came from that."
The graphics of the tribute will incorporate the yellow, green and blue colors of the Brazilian flag.
Team director Paul Stoddart said: "Sadly, the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger changed the face of Formula One forever, and although it remains one of the most tragic events in the sport's history, much of today's enormously improved safety provisions have come about as a result of what happened on that fateful Sunday 10 years ago."
The day before Senna died, Austrian rookie driver Roland Ratzenberger was killed in a similar high-speed crash in qualifying.
On Saturday, an honorary tribune in the Imola circuit's stands will be named in Senna's honor, with the driver's sister Vivian taking part in the ceremony.
And a week after Sunday's race, on May 1 -- the exact anniversary date of Senna's death -- track organizers will open the gates for fans to pay tribute once more.
SIMULATE SCHUMACHER
Fans at the San Marino Grand Prix can finally feel what it's like to drive Michael Schumacher's Ferrari.
Located in the infield of the circuit is a racing simulator set up by one of Ferrari's sponsors. The machine is set with the exact specifications of Schumacher's car from 2002, when he won a record 11 races in one of the most dominant performances in auto racing history.
The track fans will encounter once inside the machines is -- naturally -- the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit that surrounds the stand where the simulator is set up.
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