Formula 1 News

Turkish GP, 2nd Free Practice Session: Lewis Hamilton quickest 

Lewis Hamilton was fastest in the disrupted second practice session for the Turkish Grand Prix. A loose drain cover at Turn 10 caused a half hour long red flag period 20 minutes into practice, and when the session finally resumed, few managed to improve their times. Championship leader Hamilton had set a 1’28”469 lap before the stoppage, putting him 0.293 seconds clear of morning pacesetter Kimi Raikkonen.

They were followed by the two Toyotas, as Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli intruded on the usual McLaren/Ferrari dominance of the first four positions to take third and fourth in the session. Their presence meant that Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso ended up only fifth and sixth – although they were only four tenths of a second slower than Hamilton, as the top 12 cars all lapped within a second.

Williams got both cars into the top ten, as Nico Rosberg in seventh and Alex Wurz in ninth sandwiched Renault’s Heikki Kovalainen. The Finn’s teammate Giancarlo Fisichella had inadvertently caused the red flag when the drain cover on the exit of Turn 10 became detached as he drove over it. The cover flew into the air and landed on the grass, but the session was allowed to resume after thorough checks by the officials.

Any hope that drivers might improve their times in the final minutes was then dashed when Anthony Davidson crashed at Turn 3 with three minutes remaining. The Super Aguri locked up and went straight into the barriers, meaning that yellow flags were on display throughout the final runs of the 90 minutes. Davidson had earlier escaped an unnerving moment at Turn 8 when he came across Sebastian Vettel’s slowing Toro Rosso as he committed to the corner. The Super Aguri went wide off the road and rejoined, while Vettel made it back to the pits so his mechanical problem could be rectified.

After his fuel leak, spin and fire this morning, David Coulthard missed the early part of afternoon practice while the Red Bull team changed the engine and carried out repairs. He eventually joined in time to take 11th place.