Williams’ Nico Rosberg drove to the fifth quickest practice lap time on Friday morning in the knowledge that he is facing a ten-position grid penalty here in Japan.
It emerged at the Fuji Speedway that the Grove based team would install a new 2.4 litre V8 unit in his FW29 for the beginning on Saturday practice after a fault was discovered following the recent Belgian grand prix at Spa.
All drivers are allowed to use a fresh engine in the three hours of official Friday practice at events without fear of penalty.
Meanwhile, Super Aguri’s SA07 single seater hit the circuit on Friday morning complete with new sponsor stickers.
The Japanese team announced formally at Fuji that new backers Four Leaf and Carrozzeria had joined the roster to replace defaulting sponsor SS United.
Virgin Atlantic has also upped its support to on-car branding, with “discussions continuing for a full-calendar partnership in 2008”, according to a statement.
Interestingly, however, Aguri Suzuki’s team has replaced the prominent SS United branding on the rear wing not with one of its new sponsors, but with the name of its engine and chassis partner Honda.
