Post by Liam O'Reilly on Aug 25, 2006 12:30:03 GMT
Race drivers prevailed in an unusually busy first practice for the Turkish Grand Prix, as the teams began to feel their way round the Istanbul Park circuit for the second time.
Squeezing in a lap in final seconds, 2005 winner Kimi Raikkonen put in a time four tenths faster than Michael Schumacher, who also made a late appearance on the timesheets.
Tthe German therefore drew first blood in his tussle with Fernando Alonso, the Spaniard, along with Renault team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, choosing to do nothing more than an installation lap.
Third place fell to Hungary winner Jenson Button, the Briton eager not to let the emotions of his first win get in the way of a strong performance this weekend.
However, while Button was third and test driver Anthony Davidson - running a Toyota-like red and white livery as a result of their tie-up with Turkish fuel company Petrol Ofisi - was fifth, Honda will be concerned by the test driver's engine failure midway through the session, particularly as Button suffered a similar fate in Hungary.
Splitting the two Hondas was Alex Wurz in the Williams, the Austrian doing the leg work for Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg, who sat out the session.
Fresh from his maiden F1 podium in Hungary, Pedro de la Rosa insists he is an outside bet for victory this weekend, a fact he went some way to proving by posting sixth fastest here, just ahead of Nick Heidfeld's BMW Sauber.
Heidfeld was just ahead of BMW's new test driver, Sebastian Vettel, the German doing an impressive job to go eighth considering his lack of F1 experience and the fact he has never visited Turkey before.
His time, just 1.6secs off the ultimate pace, was enough to edge ahead of Red Bull and Scuderia Toro Rosso test drivers Robert Doornbos and Neel Jani, the Dutchman lucky to have emerged unscathed after several off track moments.
A limited number of laps were enough to deliver the 11th best time for Rubens Barrichello, while Giorgio Mondini was back in the MF1 Racing test role for the first time since Indianapolis, setting the 12th best time, Scott Speed separating the Swiss driver from regulars Tiago Monteiro and Christijan Albers in 14th and 15th.
Former race driver Franck Montagny gave Super Aguri a glimpse of what they were missing when he assumed testing duties for the team, setting the 16th fastest time, ahead of Felipe Massa, but crucially four tenths up on replacement Sakon Yamamoto in 18th and Vitantonio Liuzzi in 19th.
Along with Renault and Williams, Red Bull and Toyota did nothing more than an installation lap ahead of a full program in the afternoon.
Turkish GP, Friday practice (session one):
1. Kimi Raikkonen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 01:28.315
2. Michael Schumacher Germany Ferrari-Ferrari 01:28.777
3. Jenson Button Britain Honda-Honda 01:28.785
4. Alexander Wurz Austria Williams-Cosworth 01:28.959
5. Anthony Davidson Britain Honda-Honda 01:29.193
6. Pedro de la Rosa Spain McLaren-Mercedes 01:29.376
7. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 01:29.780
8. Sebastian Vettel Germany BMW Sauber 01:29.964
9. Robert Doornbos Holland Red Bull-Ferrari 01:30.391
10. Neel Jani Switzerland Toro Rosso-Cosworth 01:30.576*
11. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Honda-Honda 01:30.838
12. Giorgio Mondini Switzerland Midland-Toyota 01:30.846
13. Scott Speed USA Toro Rosso-Cosworth 01:31.416*
14. Christijan Albers Holland Midland-Toyota 01:31.475
15. Tiago Monteiro Portugal Midland-Toyota 01:31.566
16. Franck Montagny France Super Aguri-Honda 01:31.814
17. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 01:31.904
18. Sakon Yamamoto Japan Super Aguri-Honda 01:32.212
19. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 01:32.497*
20. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault no time
21. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Renault-Renault no time
22. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota no time
23. Ralf Schumacher Germany Toyota-Toyota no time
24. Mark Webber Australia Williams-Cosworth no time
25. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Cosworth no time
26. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber no time
27. David Coulthard Britain Red Bull-Ferrari no time
28. Christian Klien Austria Red Bull-Ferrari no time
29. Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri-Honda no time
all times unofficial
* denotes restricted 3-litre V10; all others 2.4 V8
Squeezing in a lap in final seconds, 2005 winner Kimi Raikkonen put in a time four tenths faster than Michael Schumacher, who also made a late appearance on the timesheets.
Tthe German therefore drew first blood in his tussle with Fernando Alonso, the Spaniard, along with Renault team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, choosing to do nothing more than an installation lap.
Third place fell to Hungary winner Jenson Button, the Briton eager not to let the emotions of his first win get in the way of a strong performance this weekend.
However, while Button was third and test driver Anthony Davidson - running a Toyota-like red and white livery as a result of their tie-up with Turkish fuel company Petrol Ofisi - was fifth, Honda will be concerned by the test driver's engine failure midway through the session, particularly as Button suffered a similar fate in Hungary.
Splitting the two Hondas was Alex Wurz in the Williams, the Austrian doing the leg work for Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg, who sat out the session.
Fresh from his maiden F1 podium in Hungary, Pedro de la Rosa insists he is an outside bet for victory this weekend, a fact he went some way to proving by posting sixth fastest here, just ahead of Nick Heidfeld's BMW Sauber.
Heidfeld was just ahead of BMW's new test driver, Sebastian Vettel, the German doing an impressive job to go eighth considering his lack of F1 experience and the fact he has never visited Turkey before.
His time, just 1.6secs off the ultimate pace, was enough to edge ahead of Red Bull and Scuderia Toro Rosso test drivers Robert Doornbos and Neel Jani, the Dutchman lucky to have emerged unscathed after several off track moments.
A limited number of laps were enough to deliver the 11th best time for Rubens Barrichello, while Giorgio Mondini was back in the MF1 Racing test role for the first time since Indianapolis, setting the 12th best time, Scott Speed separating the Swiss driver from regulars Tiago Monteiro and Christijan Albers in 14th and 15th.
Former race driver Franck Montagny gave Super Aguri a glimpse of what they were missing when he assumed testing duties for the team, setting the 16th fastest time, ahead of Felipe Massa, but crucially four tenths up on replacement Sakon Yamamoto in 18th and Vitantonio Liuzzi in 19th.
Along with Renault and Williams, Red Bull and Toyota did nothing more than an installation lap ahead of a full program in the afternoon.
Turkish GP, Friday practice (session one):
1. Kimi Raikkonen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 01:28.315
2. Michael Schumacher Germany Ferrari-Ferrari 01:28.777
3. Jenson Button Britain Honda-Honda 01:28.785
4. Alexander Wurz Austria Williams-Cosworth 01:28.959
5. Anthony Davidson Britain Honda-Honda 01:29.193
6. Pedro de la Rosa Spain McLaren-Mercedes 01:29.376
7. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 01:29.780
8. Sebastian Vettel Germany BMW Sauber 01:29.964
9. Robert Doornbos Holland Red Bull-Ferrari 01:30.391
10. Neel Jani Switzerland Toro Rosso-Cosworth 01:30.576*
11. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Honda-Honda 01:30.838
12. Giorgio Mondini Switzerland Midland-Toyota 01:30.846
13. Scott Speed USA Toro Rosso-Cosworth 01:31.416*
14. Christijan Albers Holland Midland-Toyota 01:31.475
15. Tiago Monteiro Portugal Midland-Toyota 01:31.566
16. Franck Montagny France Super Aguri-Honda 01:31.814
17. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 01:31.904
18. Sakon Yamamoto Japan Super Aguri-Honda 01:32.212
19. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 01:32.497*
20. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault no time
21. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Renault-Renault no time
22. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota no time
23. Ralf Schumacher Germany Toyota-Toyota no time
24. Mark Webber Australia Williams-Cosworth no time
25. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Cosworth no time
26. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber no time
27. David Coulthard Britain Red Bull-Ferrari no time
28. Christian Klien Austria Red Bull-Ferrari no time
29. Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri-Honda no time
all times unofficial
* denotes restricted 3-litre V10; all others 2.4 V8