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Friday’s running has now been completed and the Formula One teams are undoubtedly pouring over data as I type, trying to understand how to improve their set up before qualifying tomorrow. And the driver who leaves Fuji Speedway this evening with the biggest smile? Toyota driver Timo Glock. The young German set his fastest lap quite early on in the 90 minute session and despite the best efforts of McLaren, Ferrari and Renault, Glock remained unbeatable as the practice drew to a close. Continue Reading

The first 90 minute session for the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix has come to a close with McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton at the top of the timing sheet. The McLaren driver was closely followed by Felipe Massa a little over a tenth behind, while Heikki Kovalainen posted the third best time of the morning 0.2s shy of Massa. Kimi Raikkonen completed the McLaren/Ferrari sequence by going fourth and Renault slotted into fifth and sixth with Fernando Alonso going faster than Nelson Piquet Jr. Continue Reading

A little late - qualifying is due to begin in about an hour or so, but here ae the practice times from yesterday, which saw the drivers venture out onto the artificially lit Singapore street circuit for the first time in preparation for Sunday’s race. All in all, the sesions went well and there were only a couple of moments. Mark Webber slammed his Red Bull into the entrance of the tunnel, and the bumps caused a few airborne situations for the pilots. Continue Reading

With the second 90 minute practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix came the rain, washing the track and making the drivers shy about setting lap times. Although the session wasn’t a complete wash-out, the times set are noticeably slower than in the morning, and a lot of drivers complained about lack of running. One driver who wasn’t complaining though was Fernando Alonso, who finished his Friday duties on top of the timing sheet. Continue Reading

Both Ferraris have topped the timing sheets at Belgium’s Spa Francorchamps circuit, set in the Ardennes Forest. It was Felipe Massa who got the upper-hand and led his team mate Kimi Raikkonen for most of the session. Sliding in to third and fourth were both McLarens, Lewis Hamilton edging out Heikki Kovalainen, but lapping some 0.6s off Massa’s pace. Of the top four, it was Hamilton who made the most noticeable error, taking to the gravel at Les Combes as well as losing time at La Source on what was meant to be an improved lap. Continue Reading

The second session of the Spanish Grand Prix practices finalised earlier, and Kimi Raikkonen continued to dominate in his Ferrari F2008. However, there were a few surprises along the way and the Friday tables look a little odd. Second place went to a resurgent Nelson Piquet Jr, setting a lap time on 0.1s adrift of Raikkonen. Compounding the pace of the Renault R27 was team mate Fernando Alonso in third going only a fraction slower. Kazuki Nakajima also managed to get his Williams into the mix and went fourth, his team mate Nico Rosberg going seventh and sandwiching Felipe Massa and Mark Webber in fifth and sixth respectively. Continue Reading

The Spanish Grand Prix got underway this morning with the drivers heading out on track to complete the morning’s 90 minute session around Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya. Following on from their impressive form in Malaysia and Bahrain, Ferrari continued to dominate after the three week break and posted the top two times before breaking for lunch. Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen sandwiched Bahrain pole-sitter Robert Kubica in third, while the Renault’s of Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet Jr looked pretty good in sixth and seventh respectively. Perhaps Alonso was trying to deflect attention earlier in the week when he said he wasn’t to optimistic about this race? Continue Reading

Just as one race ends another begins, this time at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia. The first session was dominated by Brazil’s Felipe Massa, who managed to end up a second clear of Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen. The pair will be looking to improve from last weekend’s dismal Australian Grand Prix which saw both drivers retire after a slew of mistakes. Heikki Kovalainen ran well in the first session and slotted into third, although he dropped to seventh after lunch. Lewis Hamilton in the sister MP4-23 ran well in practice one and finished fifth, improving to first in the second session. Buoyed from his win in Australia, the Briton will be looking to repeat his success at Sepang on Sunday. Continue Reading

Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld showed their colours in the Saturday Practice session. The pair went to the top of the timing sheet in the final few minutes, which saw Heikki Kovalainen, Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton off-pace. Fernando Alonso, Nico Rosberg and David Coulthard did well to claim third, fourth and fifth respectively while Mark Webber and Jenson Button followed closely behind. The star of the morning has to be Sebastian Vettel though, who managed to head the tables for much of the middle phase in his Scuderia Toro Rosso. The German eventually ended the session in eighth. Continue Reading

Friday’s two free practice sessions were completed earlier this morning (GMT) and the results are very interesting. Although free practice isn’t the best way to gauge the relative competitiveness of each driver and team, it is the first time we have seen the cars on the circuit this year, driving with some degree of speed. Below are the times from both practices which saw Kimi Raikkonen lead the first and Lewis Hamilton the second. Continue Reading