As we gear up for this weekend in Valencia, I thought some might find this article interesting. It recaps the results of the first practice session - so if you are planning on watching it you may want to skip this post.

Most interesting is that it seems Kimi may be willing to give up some race-day performance for a better qualifying session. We'll have to see if this strategy works.

Raikkonen shows the pace of the F2008
Fri 22 Aug, 05:52 PM - F1Live.com

Reading too much into Friday practice times can be a mistake, but there is no denying that the Ferrari package seems to be the one to have following the opening day of practice around the streets of Valencia.

Kimi Raikkonen saved his best lap until the final seconds of the session, moving from fourth fastest to the top of the timesheets with a best lap of 1:39.477s. The Finn opted to remain on the harder primary tyre, underlining the pace of the F2008 package.

With less than two seconds covering the entire field of 20 cars, it was of no surprise to see some opt for a simulated qualifying lap at the end of the 90-minute session, vaulting up the timesheets from mid-field obscurity to the sharp end of the grid.

Fernando Alonso pushed hard in the final minutes using the softer option Bridgestone Potenza and set the second fastest time of the day just 0.020s adrift of Raikkonen. It was a good lap from the Renault driver as he takes that valuable information into qualifying tomorrow. It was a similar situation for Jenson Button in the Honda as he vaulted third fastest in the final minutes of free practice, just 0.069s adrift of the ultimate pace.

Felipe Massa was fourth fastest for Ferrari, using both available compounds and proving rapid on both. Title rival Lewis Hamilton today did not quite have the pace of the Ferrari duo and will have to be content with fifth position overnight ahead of McLaren Mercedes team-mate Heikki Kovalainen.

Timo Glock seems on fine form once again, recording the seventh fastest time this afternoon. Toyota team-mate Jarno Trulli in contrast does not seem to have found the balance on his TF108 and ended the day down in 15th position.

It was another mixed session for the BMW Sauber team with Robert Kubica running reasonably well to the eighth fastest time, but once again Nick Heidfeld was off the pace in 18th position and a second behind his team-mate. Arguably Heidfeld is running a differing programme today, but given his qualifying woes so far this year, free practice is an ideal time to try some simulated qualifying runs.

Nelson Piquet spent much of the session at the tail of the field, but moved up into the top ten late on and ended the day with the ninth fastest time ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella who put in a good time in his Force India Ferrari.

Mark Webber and Red Bull team-mate David Coulthard missed the first third of the session, presumably with mechanical issues on the RB4s. Webber would rebound however to set the 11th best time with Coulthard a tenth of a second slower in 13th.

Nico Rosberg survived a wild spin early in the session and was fortunate not to make contact with Webber ahead of him on track. Seeing the out of control Williams in his mirrors as he turned into the final corner, Webber took avoiding action and contact was averted. Rosberg would go on to record the 12th best time with team-mate Kazuki Nakajima close behind in 14th position.

Sebastian Vettel made the headlines this morning with a new tyre run, but this afternoon the young German racer will have to be satisfied with 16th position with Toro Rosso team-mate Sebastien Bourdais 19th. Adrian Sutil was 17th in the second Force India Ferrari ahead of the disappointing Heidfeld, while Rubens Barrichello had the dubious honour of ending the day 20th in the second Honda.