It's getting to be a familiar scene during the Grand Prix weekend -- Kimi Raikkonen walking away from his car stopped on the track.
It happened again Friday when his McLaren had yet another engine failure during the first practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix forcing, another engine change and another 10-spot penalty.
"Obviously I'm a bit disappointed with the engine failure which stopped my first practice session prematurely," Raikkonen said. "However we managed to get in some running in the second practice and there is still plenty of time left tomorrow morning."
This afternoon will be qualifying for today's race. Wherever Raikkonen qualifies, he will drop 10 places, something Raikkonen is used to.
It will be the fourth time in the last nine races he will lose spots. Once he had the fastest time but started 11th.
He also led three races before his car failed, once on the final lap. Yet he has won three of the last five races.
Still, all those mishaps doomed his chances to take the Formula One title, which went to Fernando Alonso, who became the youngest driver to win the championship.
Raikkonen is safely in second place no matter what happens in the final two races. Alonso leads 117-94 with Juan Pablo Montoya in third. Montoya has won two of the last three races.
Raikkonen's chance for another race victory -- he's tied with Alonso at 6-6 for the season -- was set back when his car came to a smokey halt just eight laps into the morning practice.
McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa had the top time, 1 minute 30.532 seconds on the 5.807km Suzuka circuit, while Toyota test driver Ricardo Zonta was second fastest with 1:31.075 in the first session. Zonta had the top time in the afternoon at 1:30.682.
Alonso was sixth and eighth in the sessions, He made a right decision to run early. Usually Renault stays out of the first session to conserve its engines.
"We expected rain in the afternoon so we ran a lot in the first session," Alonso said.
"We ran out program slightly differently today, doing more laps than usual," said Pat Symonds, the director of engineering for the team. "Currently our forecasts suggest it will be wet tomorrow so I am happy with the work we have done."
Rain came midway through the Friday's second practice session. Last year's race weekend was affected by a typhoon in the area which canceled all of Saturday's schedule, pushing qualifying to race day.
Michael Schumacher was just 18th in the first session with 1:33.886, but rallied to post the second best time in the afternoon at 1:31.716.
"We definitely did better in the second session but the time difference is down due to the fact we were probably the only ones to run on new tires before the rain came in the afternoon," Schumacher said. "The uncooperative weather could help our cause."
Ferrari has taken the last five Japanese GP, with Schumacher winning four and teammate Rubens Barrichello one.
The 2004 Japanese Grand Prix was Schumacher's last victory against a full field, winning en route to his fifth straight Formula One title with Ferrari and seventh overall. Since then, he has won only the US Grand Prix in June when the Renaults, McLarens and five other teams chose not to race because of safety concerns of the Michelin tires.
However now it seems to be contest between Renault and McLaren, who are contending for the constructor's championship.
McLaren took the lead in the constructors' championship for the first time this season with a 1-2 finish at Brazil.
The constructors' championship determines the amount of money each team receives from Formula One's governing body at the end of the season.
McLaren, an eight-time champion, is aiming for its first title since 1998, while Renault has yet to win the title. Ferrari, which won the past six titles, is third with 98 points, 17 ahead of fourth-place Toyota.
Japan's Sakon Yamamoto had a test start for Jordan and did well, improving his chance to eventually drive in Formula One.
He came in 20th and 17th in the two practice sessions, beating more experienced drivers, including both his teammates.
Yamamoto races on the Formula Nippon circuit for the Kondo team and knows the Suzuka circuit well. He also has had some Formula One experience as a test driver at Silverstone, England
He did 1 minute, 36.295 seconds in the first session and had a best of 1:34.829 in the second.
Among the drivers behind him was Jacques Villeneuve, who did 1:34.874 for Sauber. Villeneuve won the 1997 Formula One title.
RAIN AGAIN
There is rain in the forecast for the weekend but no typhoons are scheduled -- yet.
Last year's Japanese Grand Prix was marked by a typhoon threat that canceled all of Saturday's activity, including qualifying.
Typhoon Ma-on approached the area and was initially set to come right through Suzuka. Rains had been constant from Friday morning with a possibility of winds of more than 160kph and more than 40cm of rain according to the Meteorological Agency.
The circuit was closed Saturday and the Japanese government recommended all teams not to leave their hotels.
Another sports event was affected in Tokyo. The heavy rain caused some leaks in the roof where a tennis tournament was being held. Play was held up while the court was dried and people had to use umbrellas to shield themselves from the water.
OLYMPIC HOPES
Jarno Trulli will have an unusual honor for a Formula One driver. He will be involved with the Olympics.
He will carry the Olympic torch when it passes through his hometown of Pescara on its way to the Winter Olympics in Turin next February.
"I thought as a Formula One driver I would not be involved with any Olympics but it is nice," Trulli said. "It would be very nice to be present and also probably watch some of the competition."
Ferrari is also getting inspired by the Olympics. Its cars have the logo of the Turin games. Ferrari is based in Maranello, Italy but Fiat, the parent company of Ferrari, is based in Turin.
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