Raikkonen back at the top

Championship leader quickest in second session

Last updated: 10th May 2008

kimi raikkonen

Raikkonen: Fixed gearbox

World champion Kimi Raikkonen recovered from a gearbox problem to record the fastest time in afternoon practice ahead of this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix.

Raikkonen's early morning troubles meant he was propping up the timesheets after completing just three laps, but the Ferrari mechanics got to work and the Finn was able to top the afternoon times at the Istanbul Park circuit.

It meant he was third fastest on the day after defending champion Felipe Massa and Heikki Kovalainen went marginally quicker in the morning session.

Lewis Hamilton, third in the morning, was just a fraction slower than Raikkonen in the second stanza while Massa was in third ahead of David Coulthard's Red Bull.

Kovalainen, who only passed a medical on Thursday following his high-speed crash in Spain, showed no ill-effects when he backed up his first run to complete the top five in the afternoon.

Several drivers took spins on the dusty surface with Mark Webber crunching nose-first into a barrier - causing the second session to be halted for six minutes while marshalls cleared debris and removed his Red Bull.

Webber walked safely away, but had only Force India's Adrian Sutil behind him in the standings.

First free practice

1. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1 min 27.323 secs
2. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) McLaren 1:27.456
3. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 1:27.752
4. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 1:28.284
5. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 1:28.919
6. Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams - Toyota 1:29.002
7. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 1:29.024
8. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 1:29.068
9. Nelson Piquet (Brazil) Renault 1:29.082
10. Timo Glock (Germany) Toyota 1:29.103
11. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 1:29.329
12. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 1:29.330
13. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams - Toyota 1:29.367
14. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India - Ferrari 1:29.756
15. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Force India - Ferrari 1:29.811
16. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault 1:30.088
17. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull - Renault 1:30.340
18. Sebastien Bourdais (France) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:30.388
19. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:30.426
20. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1:30.732

Second free practice

1. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1min 27.543secs
2. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 1:27.579
3. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1:27.682
4. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull - Renault 1:27.763
5. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) McLaren 1:27.954
6. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 1:28.431
7. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 1:28.619
8. Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams - Toyota 1:28.664
9. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 1:28.681
10. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 1:28.817
11. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 1:28.826
12. Timo Glock (Germany) Toyota 1:28.849
13. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams - Toyota 1:28.907
14. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Force India - Ferrari 1:29.008
15. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 1:29.024
16. Nelson Piquet (Brazil) Renault 1:29.212
17. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:29.462
18. Sebastien Bourdais (France) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:29.630
19. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault 1:29.633
20. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India - Ferrari 1:30.832