Chinese GP Practice Spoiler
#1
10-17-2008, 12:11 AM
Chinese GP Practice Spoiler
Good start for Lewis.
From Autosport.com.
From Autosport.com.
Hamilton leads first session in China
By Matt Beer Friday, October 17th 2008, 03:32 GMT
Lewis Hamilton got his potentially decisive Chinese Grand Prix weekend off to an encouraging start by topping the first practice session in Shanghai.
The McLaren driver's title rival Felipe Massa was second for Ferrari, but was 0.390 seconds slower than Hamilton, who could potentially wrap up the 2008 championship this weekend, but arrives at the circuit under pressure following the controversial incidents and penalties of the Japanese Grand Prix.
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) and Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) completed the top four, with outside title contender Robert Kubica fifth for BMW ahead of the in-form Fernando Alonso (Renault).
After a very quiet start to the session, Raikkonen was the first of the major contenders to show his hand after 35 minutes, beating previous pace-setter Sebastien Bourdais by six tenths of a second, only to then spin at Turn 2 on his next lap.
The McLaren and Ferrari drivers then proceeded to swap the top spot repeatedly during a frantic 10 minutes which saw first Kovalainen, then Massa hit the front, before Raikkonen moved back ahead - but only for a few moments as Kovalainen also improved and returned to first position just after Raikkonen.
Hamilton took time to get up to speed, wasting one lap by running very wide over the run-off exiting Turn 13. But as the session hit its halfway point he produced a 1:36.044 with his first clean lap and moved to the head of the order.
Massa was still improving though, and two minutes later he usurped his title rival by 0.020 seconds.
That proved to be the final change of the first runs, but when the front-runners returned to the track 15 minutes later it was Hamilton who took charge. While his main rivals failed to improve their times, the championship leader found a further four tenths of a second and moved clear of the field with a 1:35.630 lap.
With the lead drivers all sticking to old tyres and relatively long runs in the closing minutes, Hamilton's time remained the benchmark through to the end of the morning.
Behind the top six, Kubica's teammate Nick Heidfeld took seventh, with Toro Rosso duo Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastian Vettel eighth and 10th, sandwiching Nelson Piquet (Renault).
The Turn 11/12 chicane was the scene of most of the session's incidents, with both Jarno Trulli (Toyota) and Mark Webber (Red Bull) having half-spins mid-corner - Trulli's leaving him briefly stuck on the grass until he found reverse and edged back onto the circuit. Honda's Rubens Barrichello also had a brief moment at this spot and bounced over the grass.
Piquet had an excursion through the pitlane gravel trap made famous by Hamilton's error in the 2007 race. Unlike Hamilton last year, though, Piquet was able to keep going through the gravel and return to his pit.
By Matt Beer Friday, October 17th 2008, 03:32 GMT
Lewis Hamilton got his potentially decisive Chinese Grand Prix weekend off to an encouraging start by topping the first practice session in Shanghai.
The McLaren driver's title rival Felipe Massa was second for Ferrari, but was 0.390 seconds slower than Hamilton, who could potentially wrap up the 2008 championship this weekend, but arrives at the circuit under pressure following the controversial incidents and penalties of the Japanese Grand Prix.
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) and Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) completed the top four, with outside title contender Robert Kubica fifth for BMW ahead of the in-form Fernando Alonso (Renault).
After a very quiet start to the session, Raikkonen was the first of the major contenders to show his hand after 35 minutes, beating previous pace-setter Sebastien Bourdais by six tenths of a second, only to then spin at Turn 2 on his next lap.
The McLaren and Ferrari drivers then proceeded to swap the top spot repeatedly during a frantic 10 minutes which saw first Kovalainen, then Massa hit the front, before Raikkonen moved back ahead - but only for a few moments as Kovalainen also improved and returned to first position just after Raikkonen.
Hamilton took time to get up to speed, wasting one lap by running very wide over the run-off exiting Turn 13. But as the session hit its halfway point he produced a 1:36.044 with his first clean lap and moved to the head of the order.
Massa was still improving though, and two minutes later he usurped his title rival by 0.020 seconds.
That proved to be the final change of the first runs, but when the front-runners returned to the track 15 minutes later it was Hamilton who took charge. While his main rivals failed to improve their times, the championship leader found a further four tenths of a second and moved clear of the field with a 1:35.630 lap.
With the lead drivers all sticking to old tyres and relatively long runs in the closing minutes, Hamilton's time remained the benchmark through to the end of the morning.
Behind the top six, Kubica's teammate Nick Heidfeld took seventh, with Toro Rosso duo Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastian Vettel eighth and 10th, sandwiching Nelson Piquet (Renault).
The Turn 11/12 chicane was the scene of most of the session's incidents, with both Jarno Trulli (Toyota) and Mark Webber (Red Bull) having half-spins mid-corner - Trulli's leaving him briefly stuck on the grass until he found reverse and edged back onto the circuit. Honda's Rubens Barrichello also had a brief moment at this spot and bounced over the grass.
Piquet had an excursion through the pitlane gravel trap made famous by Hamilton's error in the 2007 race. Unlike Hamilton last year, though, Piquet was able to keep going through the gravel and return to his pit.
#2
10-17-2008, 01:26 AM
Massa has one target, stick to Lewis' ass.
I actually have Kubica finishing ahead of Massa but expecting Massa to finish in the points, though not on the podium.
I actually have Kubica finishing ahead of Massa but expecting Massa to finish in the points, though not on the podium.
Last edited by Alex; 10-17-2008 at 01:29 AM.
#3
10-17-2008, 08:31 AM
Sorry is this is
but... Speaking of fantasy leagues, it's a little late to do it now, but we should really set up some sort of fantasy league thing for F1 next year! Every who is interested could put like $5 or $10 in the pot (we'd have to paypal the money to someone who is neutral; ControlIt perhaps?) and then the winner would either get the cash or something F1 related of equivalent value. Is anyone interested?
#4
10-17-2008, 08:42 AM
Do you have some sort of F1 fantasy league thing going on or what? I'm so exhausted right now... I actually stayed up to watch most of the practice session last night. Bad idea when I've got an 8am class...
Sorry is this is but... Speaking of fantasy leagues, it's a little late to do it now, but we should really set up some sort of fantasy league thing for F1 next year! Every who is interested could put like $5 or $10 in the pot (we'd have to paypal the money to someone who is neutral; ControlIt perhaps?) and then the winner would either get the cash or something F1 related of equivalent value. Is anyone interested?
Sorry is this is
but... Speaking of fantasy leagues, it's a little late to do it now, but we should really set up some sort of fantasy league thing for F1 next year! Every who is interested could put like $5 or $10 in the pot (we'd have to paypal the money to someone who is neutral; ControlIt perhaps?) and then the winner would either get the cash or something F1 related of equivalent value. Is anyone interested?
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