With all the teams having tested at the Monza circuit just last week, the first hour of free practice this morning did not provide much track action as the majority of teams chose to spare the life of their tyres and engines, reasonably confident that data from last week provided a base line from which to work in the afternoon, when the track had more rubber down. In fact only 12 drivers posted a time.

This was definitely the case for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro as Michael Schumacher, running the same car and engine as in Turkey did not even leave the garage, while team-mate Felipe Massa, running a new engine contented himself with one un-timed installation lap. Back to business as usual in the afternoon, Michael and Felipe were second and third respectively in their 248 F1, behind the BMW Sauber of third driver, Sebastian Vettel. Schumacher did eleven laps, while the winner of the Turkish Grand Prix a fortnight ago did one more.

Fourth was Alex Wurz for Williams ahead of the McLaren-Mercedes duo of Pedro de la Rosa and Kimi Raikkonen. Unluckiest man of the day was Anthony Davidson, as Honda's Friday-only driver suffered an engine failure in both sessions. The threat of storms which had been predicted earlier this week seems to have died down and a fine day is forecast for tomorrow when the qualifying session should provide the quickest average speeds of the year on this the fastest circuit on the calendar.

Jean Todt: "Here we are at Monza for our second home Grand Prix after the one at Imola. There are four races remaining to the end of the season and our aim is very clear, even if we know it will be very hard to achieve. Today we did not do as much running as usual, as we tested here for three days last week. We are happy to be racing in front of our fans, especially those members of the Scuderia Ferrari Club, here from all over Italy, watching today from a grandstand reserved for them at the Parabolica. Tomorrow and Sunday, in this same grandstand will be our staff, which will give us a further motivation - not that any more is needed - to do our best to secure the result we want so much."

Michael Schumacher: "It's a bit too early to make any snap judgments. It is only Friday and usually, we see that things can change quickly during the weekend.
 

"I would say we had a normal day. The times are slower compared with last week and that is down to the fact the track is not as rubbered-in. Having the same engine that I used in the last grand prix is not a disadvantage compared to my main rival. We have simulated the situation in testing and there were no problems. Of course I want to win, but I don't think the gap we saw today will stay like this through the weekend. However, as usual I will give it my all!"

Felipe Massa: "Generally a positive day. We worked on confirming what we had seen in testing at this track last week and we are competitive. Again today, the car was very stable and performed consistently and equally good was the performance of the Bridgestone tyres. It all means I can be confident for the rest of the weekend which is a very important one in terms of our chances in both championships."

Ross Brawn: "After the good results obtained from last week's test, we ran a reduced programme compared to a usual Friday. The main tasks were to check out the cars and tyres and let the drivers get used to the track conditions again. We picked up where we left off at this track last Thursday and so I am confident for the next two days. The only problem was a loss of pressure in the left rear tyre on Michael's car, but it is just a minor inconvenience."

Free practice - First session: Felipe Massa: - - 1 lap chassis 252; Michael Schumacher: - - - chassis 255; Temperatures: air 27/29°C, track 32/35°C; Free practice - Second session: Michael Schumacher: 2nd 1.23.138 11 laps chassis 255; Felipe Massa: 3rd 1.23.182 12 laps chassis 252; Temperatures: air 30°C, track 36/38°C