Buzzin F1 - Formula One Blog

It was raining today at the Istanbul Park circuit in Turkey for the practice sessions, but the reigning world Champion, Kimi Raikkonen was at the top of the time sheets for the second session.

Riakkonen had a disastrous first session due to a gear box problem leaving Massa to take the quickest time, but had no trouble in the second free practice and took the top time of 1:27.543.

The Turkish Grand Prix is normally held later in the year and so track temperatures were much cooler than they would be in August.

Lewis Hamilton had been struggling through the session for McLaren but made a late decision to change to softer tyres which worked and moved him from fifth position up into second, only 0.036 behind the leading man.

Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari, finished in third place just 0.1 second behind his team-mate and will be aiming to decrease the eleven point difference between himself and Raikkonen.

David Coulthard in the Red Bull, went fourth fastest while his team-mate Mark Webber managed only four laps in the RB4 before crashing.  Webber, who was at the time in ninth place, ran wide exiting turn six when the car span and sent him across the circuit and into the retaining wall.  The front wheels were ripped off the car by the force of the impact but Webber was unhurt.

Heikki Kovalainen, who had been given the all clear to race this weekend after his horrendous crash in Spain when he was trapped in the tyre wall, was in fifth place.

Robert Kubica was in sixth place ahead of  Jarno Trulli in seventh after a late run.  The Williams Toyota driver, Kazuki Nakajima set the eighth fastest time while his team-mate Nico Rosberg was down in thirteenth place after having his fastest time withdrawn as he cut across the grass in the middle of his lap.

Fernando Alonso was in ninth place for Renault with team-mate Nelson Piquet way down the time sheet in sixteenth after a morning with more time off the track than on as he struggled to control the car on the slippery surface.

Nick Heidfeld in the second BMW Sauber finished the top ten fastest drivers of the session ahead of Jenson Button.  Timo Glock followed but was another driver that seemed to struggle on the track and went onto the run off area several times.  Later in the session he ran wide through understeer and while rejoining the circuit caught the kerb with the front wing and had to enter the pits for repairs.

Luck was not with Giancarlo Fisichella today after getting a three position penalty.  The veteran driver exited the pits without noticing that the session hadn’t started and drove through the red light and onto the track.  His team-mate, Adrian Sutil suffered with mechanical problems and only completed nine laps of the session and was also the slowest driver of the day.

Rubens Barrichello was down in fifteenth place ahead of Piquet and the two Toro Rosso drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais.