Massa fastest as Hamilton crashes out

Ferrari continued to dominate Bahrain Grand Prix practice in the second session, with Felipe Massa again leading teammate Kimi Raikkonen in a one-two.

The Brazilian ended the afternoon almost one second quicker than Raikkonen, having lapped in 1:31.420 in the final seconds.

McLaren finished third and fourth, but Lewis Hamilton ended the afternoon in the barriers.

The Briton lost control of his car on the exit of Turn 7 and spun across the track, hitting the opposite barriers side-on and causing heavy damage to the right-hand side of the car. Hamilton was unharmed in the incident.

Raikkonen and Hamilton swapped the top spot between them in the early stages, before Massa took control with a 1:32.722 lap, 0.127 seconds quicker than Hamilton's previous best.

Bar a few minutes when Raikkonen edged ahead with his final run, Massa remained on top for the rest of the afternoon. He improved his time to 1:32.393 on soft tyres, which Raikkonen beat by 0.066 seconds with three minutes remaining.

But Massa responded in emphatic style, going fastest by 0.907 seconds with his last lap of the day.

Heikki Kovalainen had languished near the foot of the top ten in the first half of the session, then improved to third later on. He was 0.095 seconds quicker then teammate Hamilton even before the latter's accident.

BMW's Robert Kubica finished the session in fifth place, 1.4 seconds off the pace but only 0.5 seconds behind Raikkonen.

Williams continued their strong morning form with Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima taking sixth and eighth respectively, split by Red Bull driver David Coulthard.

Sebastien Bourdais was as high as second for Toro Rosso early in the session. He was eventually pushed back to ninth, ahead of Renault's Nelson Piquet, who was two places ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso.

Pos  Driver        Team                     Time               Laps
1.  Massa         Ferrari             (B)  1:31.420            30
2.  Raikkonen     Ferrari             (B)  1:32.327  + 0.907   30
3.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes    (B)  1:32.752  + 1.332   30
4.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes    (B)  1:32.847  + 1.427   26
5.  Kubica        BMW Sauber          (B)  1:32.915  + 1.495   29
6.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota     (B)  1:33.022  + 1.602   34
7.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Renault    (B)  1:33.048  + 1.628   27
8.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota     (B)  1:33.098  + 1.678   33
9.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari  (B)  1:33.197  + 1.777   37
10.  Piquet        Renault             (B)  1:33.247  + 1.827   37
11.  Button        Honda               (B)  1:33.710  + 2.290   33
12.  Alonso        Renault             (B)  1:33.755  + 2.335   26
13.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault    (B)  1:33.782  + 2.362   34
14.  Trulli        Toyota              (B)  1:33.822  + 2.402   38
15.  Glock         Toyota              (B)  1:33.856  + 2.436   30
16.  Barrichello   Honda               (B)  1:33.966  + 2.546   35
17.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber          (B)  1:34.023  + 2.603   36
18.  Fisichella    Force India-Ferrari (B)  1:34.388  + 2.968   35
19.  Sutil         Force India-Ferrari (B)  1:34.405  + 2.985   34
20.  Vettel        Toro Rosso-Ferrari  (B)  1:34.787  + 3.367   30
21.  Sato          Super Aguri-Honda   (B)  1:35.288  + 3.868   24
22.  Davidson      Super Aguri-Honda   (B)  1:35.712  + 4.292   25

Practice result

Raikkonen leads wet practice 1

Kimi Raikkonen led a Ferrari one-two in the damp opening practice session at Interlagos, with Lewis Hamilton taking fifth and Fernando Alonso choosing not to participate.
Drizzle fell throughout the session, occasionally increasing to a heavier rain shower and ensuring that a dry line never appeared.
The title contenders sat out most of the morning, allowing Kazuki Nakajima, Jarno Trulli, Sebastian Vettel, Rubens Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher and Nico Rosberg to all take turns on top as the weather fluctuated
The Ferraris eventually emerged in the final 15 minutes and swiftly moved into first and second. Felipe Massa was the faster of the pair initially, before Raikkonen moved ahead by half a second with his last lap.
Hamilton made two comparatively tentative runs near the end of the morning, eventually taking fifth position. But his McLaren teammate Alonso decided to limit himself to an installation lap, as did the BMW pair and Giancarlo Fisichella.
Heikki Kovalainen ultimately took third for Renault, 1.2 seconds off the pace and just ahead of Rosberg and Hamilton.
Schumacher was sixth despite a quick spin late on, with Vettel moving back up to seventh near the end having been pushed back into the midfield as others improved.
Mark Webber, Trulli and Vitantonio Liuzzi completed the top ten.
Despite the treacherous conditions, there were few incidents. Along with Schumacher's spin, Sakon Yamamoto also had a quick trip off the road, while Adrian Sutil explored the run-off at the Senna S on two consecutive laps during one of the harder showers.Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:19.580 9
2. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:20.062 + 0.482 10
3. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:20.829 + 1.249 19
4. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:21.064 + 1.484 14
5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:21.121 + 1.541 10
6. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:21.243 + 1.663 22
7. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:21.598 + 2.018 22
8. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.104 + 2.524 12
9. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:22.104 + 2.524 26
10. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:22.250 + 2.670 17
11. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:22.434 + 2.854 23
12. Button Honda (B) 1:22.477 + 2.897 22
13. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.667 + 3.087 16
14. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:22.929 + 3.349 19
15. Sutil Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:23.248 + 3.668 30
16. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:23.261 + 3.681 26
17. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:23.551 + 3.971 20
18. Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:24.366 + 4.786 25
19. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1
20. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1
21. Alonso McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1
22. Fisichella Renault (B) 2

Hamilton tops practice 2

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton beat title rival Fernando Alonso to the fastest time in Friday afternoon practice at Interlagos.
Despite the looming prospect of a post-session visit to the stewards to find out if he will be penalised for using too many sets of wet tyres earlier on, Hamilton set the fastest time by 0.122 seconds when both McLarens tried the softer Bridgestones in the final minutes.
The Ferraris only managed third and fourth places.
After the rain that affected first practice, only a few damp areas remained when the second session began. A few drivers experimented with intermediate tyres initially, but once Mark Webber had gone quickest by 2.6 seconds on dry tyres, the rest of the field swiftly followed suit.
With track conditions improving all the time, the top spot quickly changed hands during the following half an hour. Alonso's early 1:16.081 benchmark did not last long before Hamilton embarked on a long run that eventually took him down to a 1:14.949 lap.
Felipe Massa then took a brief turn on top before Alonso reclaimed first place. The BMW drivers were next to lead the way when they tried the softer tyres, with Robert Kubica holding a six tenths of a second advantage over the rest of the field at the halfway point.
Alonso's first run on soft tyres was spoilt by traffic, but on the second attempt he produced a 1:13.239 and beat Kubica by 0.3 seconds.
That proved insufficient when Hamilton switched to softs five minutes later. The championship leader lapped in 1:12.767, half a second quicker than his teammate.
They were briefly split by Felipe Massa, before Alonso found more time on a new set of tyres and closed the gap to Hamilton to 0.122 seconds.
Kimi Raikkonen lost time on his soft tyre run when he locked up while trying to pass Hamilton. He could only manage fourth place.
Giancarlo Fisichella completed the top five for Renault, ahead of Kubica and the two Williams. Kazuki Nakajima had been as high as fourth during the session, before ending the day 0.009 seconds slower than teammate Nico Rosberg.Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:12.767 27
2. Alonso McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:12.889 + 0.122 28
3. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:13.075 + 0.308 30
4. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:13.112 + 0.345 30
5. Fisichella Renault (B) 1:13.549 + 0.782 22
6. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:13.587 + 0.820 34
7. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:13.655 + 0.888 33
8. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:13.664 + 0.897 38
9. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:13.706 + 0.939 30
10. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:13.785 + 1.018 44
11. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:13.829 + 1.062 29
12. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:13.879 + 1.112 28
13. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:13.892 + 1.125 45
14. Button Honda (B) 1:14.095 + 1.328 44
15. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:14.152 + 1.385 33
16. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:14.179 + 1.412 25
17. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:14.409 + 1.642 37
18. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:14.431 + 1.664 27
19. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:14.477 + 1.710 31
20. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:14.543 + 1.776 35
21. Sutil Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:15.095 + 2.328 35
22. Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:15.715 + 2.948 32

Massa fastest in practice 3

Felipe Massa shaded the title contenders in the final free practice session at Interlagos.
The Brazilian dominated the hour, ending up a tenth clear of Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen, while Fernando Alonso only managed eighth.
There was no repeat of Friday's inclement weather, with a dry track and hot conditions greeting the field.
Massa set the early pace with a 1:12.653 lap, which at that stage put him four tenths of a second clear of Raikkonen and six tenths ahead of the evenly-matched McLarens.
Raikkonen responded with a 1:12.358 on his second run, but this was swiftly beaten by Massa's 1:12.136. Alonso found 0.4 seconds and improved to 1:12.817, while Hamilton did not gain on this run and was pushed right back to 15th as midfield runners improved their times.
As usual the field then switched into qualifying preparations and used supersoft tyres for their last runs, and again it was Massa who set the benchmark by lapping in 1:11.810 with four minutes to go. That was 0.132 seconds quicker than Raikkonen managed on his soft tyre flying lap moments later.
Hamilton then vaulted up the order to split the Ferraris with his soft tyre run, but Alonso's gain was much smaller, and he ended the session down in seventh place, 0.8 seconds off the pace.
Mark Webber showed strong form throughout the session and eventually took fourth for Red Bull, with Jarno Trulli bringing his Toyota up to fifth with his last run.
Rubens Barrichello also had a promising morning at his home track and spent much of the hour in the top ten before taking sixth.
BMW had a disappointing time, with Nick Heidfeld only seventh, and Robert Kubica falling to 20th after stopping on the exit of Cotovelo with a mechanical problem.
Sebastian Vettel and Vitantonio Liuzzi took an impressive ninth and 11th for Toro Rosso, sandwiching Williams' Nico Rosberg.Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:11.810 + 22
2. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:11.934 + 0.124 18
3. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:11.942 + 0.132 21
4. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:12.446 + 0.636 14
5. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:12.461 + 0.651 23
6. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:12.478 + 0.668 24
7. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:12.579 + 0.769 25
8. Alonso McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:12.594 + 0.784 12
9. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:12.767 + 0.957 18
10. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:12.823 + 1.013 20
11. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:12.893 + 1.083 20
12. Fisichella Renault (B) 1:12.913 + 1.103 20
13. Button Honda (B) 1:13.015 + 1.205 22
14. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:13.046 + 1.236 23
15. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:13.090 + 1.280 20
16. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:13.117 + 1.307 12
17. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:13.299 + 1.489 16
18. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:13.331 + 1.521 16
19. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:13.474 + 1.664 17
20. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:13.525 + 1.715 14
21. Sutil Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:13.684 + 1.874 21
22. Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:13.872 + 2.062 21

Source - http://www.autosport.com

Kimi Raikkonen tops third practice - China

Kimi Raikkonen completed his domination of Shanghai practice by setting the fastest time in the final session, despite stopping on track in the closing moments.

Having been quickest in both Friday sessions, Raikkonen proceeded to hold the top spot for most of this morning's practice as well.

The Ferrari driver's first run was half a second clear of the opposition, and although his main rivals closed in during the second runs, Raikkonen remained on top by 0.026 seconds from Fernando Alonso.

None of the top four managed to improve their times on soft tyres at the end of the session, despite new fastest times being set in the first two sectors.

Raikkonen completed his lap first, but then slowed dramatically on the following lap and had to pull off the track at Turn 10.

With no one else able to improve, his position at the head of the times remained safe, but the apparent mechanical failure will be a concern with two hours to go before qualifying.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton was third fastest, 0.127 seconds slower than Raikkonen. Felipe Massa completed the top four.

Toyota showed good form during the session, with Ralf Schumacher in the top six for much of the hour and ultimately taking fifth.

Red Bull's David Coulthard moved up to sixth near the end of the hour, ahead of BMW's Robert Kubica.

Renault driver Heikki Kovalainen narrowly beat Kubica's teammate Nick Heidfeld to eighth, with Mark Webber putting the second Red Bull in 10th.

The times were typically close in the middle of the field, with less than a second covering Schumacher in fifth to Alex Wurz in 19th.

The session saw relatively little incident apart from Sebastian Vettel and Sakon Yamamoto having quick spins. Both rejoined without difficulty.

Pos  Driver        Team                    Time              Laps
1.  Raikkonen     Ferrari            (B)  1:36.100           15
2.  Alonso        McLaren-Mercedes   (B)  1:36.126 + 0.026   13
3.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes   (B)  1:36.227 + 0.127   14
4.  Massa         Ferrari            (B)  1:36.405 + 0.305   14
5.  R.Schumacher  Toyota             (B)  1:36.959 + 0.859   18
6.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Renault   (B)  1:36.964 + 0.864   13
7.  Kubica        BMW Sauber         (B)  1:37.024 + 0.924   23
8.  Kovalainen    Renault            (B)  1:37.106 + 1.006   14
9.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber         (B)  1:37.176 + 1.076   18
10.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault   (B)  1:37.315 + 1.215   13
11.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota    (B)  1:37.323 + 1.223   16
12.  Liuzzi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B)  1:37.463 + 1.363   18
13.  Button        Honda              (B)  1:37.564 + 1.464   19
14.  Trulli        Toyota             (B)  1:37.679 + 1.579   20
15.  Davidson      Super Aguri-Honda  (B)  1:37.732 + 1.632   15
16.  Vettel        Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B)  1:37.759 + 1.659   19
17.  Fisichella    Renault            (B)  1:37.791 + 1.691   17
18.  Barrichello   Honda              (B)  1:37.920 + 1.820   20
19.  Wurz          Williams-Toyota    (B)  1:37.926 + 1.826   16
20.  Sato          Super Aguri-Honda  (B)  1:38.577 + 2.477   16
21.  Sutil         Spyker-Ferrari     (B)  1:38.868 + 2.768   20
22.  Yamamoto      Spyker-Ferrari     (B)  1:39.517 + 3.417   21

Source - http://www.autosport.com

Raikkonen stays cautious for Saturday

Kimi Raikkonen is staying cautious ahead of tomorrow's qualifying despite topping the times in both practice sessions in China on Friday.

"A good day, even if the Friday results have to be considered for what they are, given that we do not know what our main rivals are up to," said the Ferrari driver, who just edged world champion Fernando Alonso is both sessions.

"The car quickly proved to be well balanced, but there is still room to improve the handling.

"The track was very slippery, but luckily, there are plenty of escape roads that any mistakes don't cost a driver anything. I'm expecting a very close fight tomorrow," added the Finn, who trails championship leader Lewis Hamilton by 17 points with only 20 at stake.

Raikkonen's teammate Felipe Massa was third fastest and the Brazilian was also happy with his day's work.

"We are all very close, given that both in the morning and in the afternoon, the first four in the order were all within around two tenths," he said. "I am happy with the first day of free practice and I hope to continue in the same way for the rest of the weekend.

"We worked a lot on set-up and I think we are on the right track. The track was very dirty and slippery, but it improved over the course of the day."

Source - http://www.autosport.com

Raikkonen tops first practice - China

Kimi Raikkonen set the pace in the first practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver beat McLaren's Fernando Alonso by 0.084 seconds at a dry Shanghai, with their teammates Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton taking third and fourth.

Hamilton had been the first leading driver to set a flying lap, moving to the head of the field with a 1:37.510 after half an hour. The championship leader only spent a few minutes on top before Massa beat his time by 0.014 seconds.

The top four all gained 0.3-0.5 seconds on their second runs, and this time it was Raikkonen who emerged fastest on a 1:37.094.

Alonso - who had been four tenths of a second adrift of the other three earlier on - improved to second, 0.014 seconds behind Raikkonen. At this stage, all four of the leading contenders were covered by just 0.116 seconds.

Only Raikkonen improved when all four rejoined for their final runs, with the Finn extending his advantage by 0.070 seconds. His teammate Massa had a spin at Turn 1, while Hamilton also took a brief trip off the road on his last lap.

Raikkonen and Alonso had got their mistakes out of the way earlier on - both running wide on to the run-off at the final corner on their first flying laps of the morning.

For much of the session the McLarens and Ferraris had been a second clear of the rest of the field, but at the end of the morning Williams' Nico Rosberg used the softer Bridgestones to vault to fifth, 0.6 seconds off the pace.

Rosberg's lap pushed Robert Kubica (BMW-Sauber) back to sixth place. His teammate Nick Heidfeld came to a halt on track after developing a gearbox oil leak with 35 minutes to go, but was returned to the pits in time to rejoin for a final run and take 10th.

Jarno Trulli had been fifth for much of the morning, but ended up being edged back to seventh, ahead of Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella and Williams test driver Kazuki Nakajima, who replaced Alex Wurz for the session.

Pos  Driver        Team                    Time              Laps
1.  Raikkonen     Ferrari            (B)  1:37.024           24
2.  Alonso        McLaren-Mercedes   (B)  1:37.108 + 0.084   18
3.  Massa         Ferrari            (B)  1:37.128 + 0.104   21
4.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes   (B)  1:37.210 + 0.186   20
5.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota    (B)  1:37.707 + 0.683   23
6.  Kubica        BMW Sauber         (B)  1:38.055 + 1.031   23
7.  Trulli        Toyota             (B)  1:38.208 + 1.184   30
8.  Fisichella    Renault            (B)  1:38.217 + 1.193   16
9.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota    (B)  1:38.270 + 1.246   30
10.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber         (B)  1:38.445 + 1.421   13
11.  Kovalainen    Renault            (B)  1:38.551 + 1.527   17
12.  R.Schumacher  Toyota             (B)  1:38.661 + 1.637   23
13.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Renault   (B)  1:38.700 + 1.676   25
14.  Button        Honda              (B)  1:38.942 + 1.918   18
15.  Barrichello   Honda              (B)  1:38.945 + 1.921   22
16.  Sato          Super Aguri-Honda  (B)  1:39.238 + 2.214   23
17.  Liuzzi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B)  1:39.497 + 2.473   22
18.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault   (B)  1:39.535 + 2.511   23
19.  Davidson      Super Aguri-Honda  (B)  1:39.539 + 2.515   20
20.  Vettel        Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B)  1:39.898 + 2.874   24
21.  Yamamoto      Spyker-Ferrari     (B)  1:40.126 + 3.102   27
22.  Sutil         Spyker-Ferrari     (B)  1:40.149 + 3.125   26

Source - http://www.autosport.com

Final practice abandoned due to fog

Final practice for the Japanese Grand Prix had to be abandoned due to poor weather conditions at Fuji.

The session was initially delayed by 15 minutes due to low cloud that would have prevented the medical helicopter from flying in the event of an accident.

The start was then postponed by a further quarter of an hour as the cloud failed to lift.

The field was finally allowed out onto the wet track with 30 minutes remaining, but the rain worsened immediately and with visibility declining again, the red flag was shown after just four minutes.

After announcing a further series of five minute delays, race control eventually bowed to the inevitable at 11:53 local time and decided not to attempt to restart the session.

Only three drivers managed flying laps in the few minutes of running that took place. Williams' Alex Wurz was fastest on a 1:32.746, two seconds clear of teammate Nico Rosberg. Toyota's Jarno Trulli was third, 3.4 seconds behind Wurz.

All the other drivers bar Kimi Raikkonen managed at least an installation or out-lap before practice was finally called off.

Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen set 3 and 5 position on afternoon practice at Fuji

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time as McLaren dominated Friday afternoon practice at Fuji.

McLaren were only briefly headed during the session when the two Renaults vaulted up to first and second after 15 minutes, beating Hamilton and Fernando Alonso's initial times by a few fractions.

While Giancarlo Fisichella used the softer tyres for his 1:19.926 lap, teammate Heikki Kovalainen was running the hard compound when he outpaced the Italian by 0.030 seconds a few moments later.

Within seven minutes the McLarens had reclaimed the leading positions, with Hamilton lapping in 1:19.198 and then improving to 1:18.734 shortly afterwards.

Alonso remained slightly slower than his teammate on both runs, finishing the session on a 1:18.948.

The session saw significantly more activity than morning practice had, with even the front-runners taking to the track immediately and most completing longer than usual runs as they evaluated tyre performance on the unfamiliar track.

This meant that the majority of quick times were set early on before the field focused on race preparations.

Ferrari were not quite on McLaren's pace during this session, and both Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen ran wide across the run-off areas on several occasions - Massa leaving the road twice on one lap. He took third, 0.749 seconds behind Hamilton and 0.231 seconds ahead of Raikkonen.

They were split by Jarno Trulli, who put in a headline-grabbing performance for circuit owners Toyota to end the day in fourth place.

The Renaults were edged back to sixth and seventh, ahead of David Coulthard and Trulli's teammate Ralf Schumacher, who had a half-spin at Turn 10.

BMW's Robert Kubica completed the top ten.

After his impressive morning performance, Spyker's Adrian Sutil starred again early on, holding seventh for the first half of the session. He was eventually edged back to 16th.

His teammate Sakon Yamamoto had a bizarre incident after 15 minutes when he had a spin in the final complex and was clipped by Rubens Barrichello's Honda as he tried to rejoin. It appeared that the Spyker had escaped damage, but its front wing then fell off as it arrived in its pit box.

Barrichello continued after the incident but struggled for speed all afternoon, remaining at the very bottom of the times until improving to 17th in the closing seconds.

Pos  Driver        Team                    Time               Laps
1.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes   (B)  1:18.734            38
2.  Alonso        McLaren-Mercedes   (B)  1:18.948  + 0.214   34
3.  Massa         Ferrari            (B)  1:19.483  + 0.749   36
4.  Trulli        Toyota             (B)  1:19.711  + 0.977   35
5.  Raikkonen     Ferrari            (B)  1:19.714  + 0.980   29
6.  Kovalainen    Renault            (B)  1:19.789  + 1.055   40
7.  Fisichella    Renault            (B)  1:19.926  + 1.192   39
8.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Renault   (B)  1:19.949  + 1.215   33
9.  R.Schumacher  Toyota             (B)  1:19.969  + 1.235   40
10.  Kubica        BMW Sauber         (B)  1:20.069  + 1.335   45
11.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault   (B)  1:20.069  + 1.335   35
12.  Wurz          Williams-Toyota    (B)  1:20.233  + 1.499   37
13.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota    (B)  1:20.270  + 1.536   43
14.  Button        Honda              (B)  1:20.336  + 1.602   44
15.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber         (B)  1:20.462  + 1.728   36
16.  Sutil         Spyker-Ferrari     (B)  1:20.736  + 2.002   37
17.  Barrichello   Honda              (B)  1:20.889  + 2.155   33
18.  Liuzzi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B)  1:20.985  + 2.251   44
19.  Vettel        Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B)  1:20.997  + 2.263   38
20.  Davidson      Super Aguri-Honda  (B)  1:21.007  + 2.273   34
21.  Yamamoto      Spyker-Ferrari     (B)  1:21.305  + 2.571   38
22.  Sato          Super Aguri-Honda  (B)  1:21.352  + 2.618   34

Source - http://www.autosport.com

Kimi Raikkonen tops first practice - Japan

Ferrari led the way as the Formula One field got to grips with the new Fuji circuit in the first free practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix.

After trailing teammate Felipe Massa for most of the morning, Kimi Raikkonen grabbed the fastest time with a 1:19.333 lap in the closing minutes of the session, and then improved to 1:19.119 with his last lap.

The McLarens had to settle for third and fourth, and also swapped places on the final laps.

Lewis Hamilton had held the upper hand over Fernando Alonso during their first runs, but in the end it was the reigning world champion who secured third place - half a second off Raikkonen's pace and 0.140 seconds ahead of his teammate.

Williams showed strong form with Nico Rosberg in fifth and Alex Wurz seventh, the pair split by BMW's Robert Kubica.

Jarno Trulli took eighth for track owners Toyota, but his teammate Ralf Schumacher was only 15th, and had a spin at Turn 6 with half an hour remaining.

Spyker's Adrian Sutil was one of the few drivers to try soft tyres during the session, and leapt to a remarkable fifth place with ten minutes to go.

Even as others improved, the German rookie was still able to hang on to ninth position, ahead of Anthony Davidson and Rubens Barrichello, the latter also using softs in the final moments.

Heikki Kovalainen had held fifth for most of the session, but did not make a sufficient improvement on his last run and was shuffled back to 12th. Nick Heidfeld ended up 13th, but had also shown better form earlier on.

Several drivers had their mornings interrupted by mechanical problems.

Both Sakon Yamamoto and Sebastian Vettel stopped on track, although the Toro Rosso was returned to the pits in time to rejoin before the end of the session, while local favourite Takuma Sato spent the first hour in the Super Aguri garage with the mechanics attending to the rear of his car.

Pos  Driver        Team                    Time              Laps
1.  Raikkonen     Ferrari            (B)  1:19.119           26
2.  Massa         Ferrari            (B)  1:19.498 + 0.379   27
3.  Alonso        McLaren-Mercedes   (B)  1:19.667 + 0.548   27
4.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes   (B)  1:19.807 + 0.688   24
5.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota    (B)  1:20.058 + 0.939   26
6.  Kubica        BMW Sauber         (B)  1:20.297 + 1.178   26
7.  Wurz          Williams-Toyota    (B)  1:20.411 + 1.292   24
8.  Trulli        Toyota             (B)  1:20.483 + 1.364   32
9.  Sutil         Spyker-Ferrari     (B)  1:20.516 + 1.397   29
10.  Davidson      Super Aguri-Honda  (B)  1:20.601 + 1.482   22
11.  Barrichello   Honda              (B)  1:20.686 + 1.567   24
12.  Kovalainen    Renault            (B)  1:20.718 + 1.599   27
13.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber         (B)  1:20.728 + 1.609   26
14.  Liuzzi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B)  1:20.808 + 1.689   29
15.  R.Schumacher  Toyota             (B)  1:20.828 + 1.709   28
16.  Fisichella    Renault            (B)  1:20.851 + 1.732   23
17.  Sato          Super Aguri-Honda  (B)  1:21.186 + 2.067   15
18.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault   (B)  1:21.437 + 2.318   18
19.  Button        Honda              (B)  1:21.541 + 2.422   22
20.  Vettel        Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B)  1:21.854 + 2.735   18
21.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Renault   (B)  1:22.436 + 3.317   18
22.  Yamamoto      Spyker-Ferrari     (B)  1:22.902 + 3.783   17