Ferrari's No 2 driver Rubens Barrichello recorded the fastest time of the day under the less tricky conditions of the morning session on the 4.411-kilometre (2.74-mile) Nevers-Magny Cours circuit. As conditions worsened in the afternoon, he was displaced from the top spot by a fellow Brazilian, Cristiano de Matta, in the second practice session. Da Matta's lap time of one-minute, 15.518 seconds was ahead of Renault driver Jarno Trulli, who was second in 1:16.206. World champion Michael Schumacher -winner of eight of nine races so far - was in joint fourth with BAR-Honda driver Jenson Button at 1:16.397. Montoya crashEarlier, Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya crashed in the morning session after losing control on the rain-slicked track. He spun into the grass, going airborne twice and nearly rolling over. His car remained upright and went into the tyre barrier at an angle. The Colombian was unhurt but the car lost a wheel. His team repaired the car and he came back to finish 13th in the afternoon session. Mosely quitsAlso on Saturday, FIA president Max Mosely confirmed his resignation from the top job, citing waning interest as the reason for his sudden departure. It is unclear at this stage who will replace the 64-year-old Briton, who has held the position since 1993. "Above all, you shouldn't stay in a job if it doesn't really fascinate you, that's as important as the FIA. It is a very important job, it has become very important. From my own point of view, I have achieved within the job really everything that what I set out to achieve and I am very grateful to the people that helped me doing that," said Max Mosley, Departing International Automobile Federation (FIA) President On course for winSunday's running of the French Grand Prix denotes the beginning of the second half of the 18-race Formula One season. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher is on course for his seventh Formula One title and fifth in a row. The German is 18 points ahead of teammate Barrichello - 80 to 62 - and 36 better than the nearest non-Ferrari driver, BAR-Honda's Jenson Button. In 2002, Michael claimed the title at the French Grand Prix - the earliest time that happened. (AP)
Toyota's Da Matta clocks record time at F1
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