Grand Prix of China, Practise Sessions 1, 2 & 3

Pos  Driver       Car                       Time
 1.  Heidfeld     BMW Sauber           (B)  1:36.061
 2.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes     (B)  1:36.135  + 0.074
 3.  Kubica       BMW Sauber           (B)  1:36.150  + 0.089
 4.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes     (B)  1:36.324  + 0.263
 5.  Trulli       Toyota               (B)  1:36.396  + 0.335
 6.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota      (B)  1:36.427  + 0.366
 7.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:36.642  + 0.581
 8.  Coulthard    Red Bull-Renault     (B)  1:36.712  + 0.651
 9.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota      (B)  1:36.713  + 0.652
10.  Piquet       Renault              (B)  1:36.789  + 0.728
11.  Barrichello  Honda                (B)  1:36.839  + 0.778
12.  Massa        Ferrari              (B)  1:36.842  + 0.781
13.  Raikkonen    Ferrari              (B)  1:36.901  + 0.840
14.  Vettel       Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:36.902  + 0.841
15.  Button       Honda                (B)  1:36.958  + 0.897
16.  Alonso       Renault              (B)  1:36.996  + 0.935
17.  Glock        Toyota               (B)  1:37.053  + 0.992
18.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault     (B)  1:37.566  + 1.505
19.  Sutil        Force India-Ferrari  (B)  1:37.648  + 1.587
20.  Fisichella   Force India-Ferrari  (B)  1:37.964  + 1.903

| Free Practise 2 – Hamilton Fastest Ahead of Renault

Pos  Driver        Team                     Time              Laps
 1.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes    (B)  1:35.750            33
 2.  Alonso        Renault             (B)  1:36.024  + 0.274   36
 3.  Piquet        Renault             (B)  1:36.094  + 0.344   38
 4.  Trulli        Toyota              (B)  1:36.159  + 0.409   32
 5.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault    (B)  1:36.375  + 0.625   38
 6.  Massa         Ferrari             (B)  1:36.480  + 0.730   31
 7.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari  (B)  1:36.529  + 0.779   32
 8.  Raikkonen     Ferrari             (B)  1:36.542  + 0.792   34
 9.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber          (B)  1:36.553  + 0.803   38
10.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota     (B)  1:36.556  + 0.806   33
11.  Glock         Toyota              (B)  1:36.615  + 0.865   33
12.  Kubica        BMW Sauber          (B)  1:36.775  + 1.025   37
13.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes    (B)  1:36.797  + 1.047   33
14.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Renault    (B)  1:36.808  + 1.058   36
15.  Vettel        Toro Rosso-Ferrari  (B)  1:36.925  + 1.175   38
16.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota     (B)  1:36.975  + 1.225   31
17.  Fisichella    Force India-Ferrari (B)  1:37.473  + 1.723   38
18.  Sutil         Force India-Ferrari (B)  1:37.617  + 1.867   33
19.  Button        Honda               (B)  1:37.800  + 2.050   37
20.  Barrichello   Honda               (B)  1:37.904  + 2.154   36

That’s interesting for McLaren, they have both Ferraris and both Renaults on their tails in terms of pace. That’s extra pressure on the Silver team for qualifying and for the race. Kimi isn’t have a perfect day but I’m sure he’ll get there. Flavio Briatore’s comments gave me a giggle, he believes Hamilton will throw the title away again. Whatever happens, I can’t wait!

And China have the best fans of Kimi. Their banners and flags that they manage to produce are just fantastic, give them a round of applause – because Kimi already has (read his quotes below). The message on this banner may not have perfect english but it is just so sweet. You can enjoy plenty more practise pics from today in the KRS Photobucket China album. Just linking to them isn’t good enough, so I’ve posted some banners below! This is the fourth time I’m saying it but – Happy birthday Kimi, keep flying! Don’t forget to read the special issue of the Kimi magazine in the next blog entry below too.

| Ferrari Team Quotes

Felipe Massa – 6th: "We did a good job and I think
we will be competitive at the track. The performance level improved bit
by bit as the track got more grip. In the first session, the car was a
bit twitchy but then, especially in the second part of the afternoon
session, its handling improved. I think we are working in the right
direction in terms of car set-up. My aim for the weekend? Obviously
I’ll be trying to win or at least to get as many points as possible."

Kimi Raikkonen – 8th: "It was nice to see so many
fans in the grandstands to celebrate my birthday. As usual it’s
difficult to judge the relative strengths of the teams just by looking
at the results sheets. At the start, it could have been that our main
rivals were quicker but then the situation seemed to balance out and I
think that’s how it will be for the rest of the weekend. Overall, the
car’s not bad even if there are still some areas that need to be
improved."

Luca Baldisserri: "A Friday just like any other:
the only difference worthy of note was the wind which changed in
direction and intensity, thus making our track work a bit tricky at
times. As for the rest, we got through everything on our programme,
which means finding the best set-up on the two F2008s and the
comparison, both over a single lap and over a distance, of the two
types of tyre we have at this Grand Prix. We definitely face a day of
hard work to be as well prepared as possible for the rest of the
weekend."

| Free Practise 1 – Hamilton Quickest From Ferraris

Pos  Driver       Team                      Time               Laps
 1.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes     (B)  1:35.630           23
 2.  Massa        Ferrari              (B)  1:36.020  + 0.390  24
 3.  Raikkonen    Ferrari              (B)  1:36.052  + 0.422  23
 4.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes     (B)  1:36.103  + 0.473  21
 5.  Kubica       BMW Sauber           (B)  1:36.507  + 0.877  25
 6.  Alonso       Renault              (B)  1:36.661  + 1.031  25
 7.  Heidfeld     BMW Sauber           (B)  1:37.040  + 1.410  23
 8.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:37.070  + 1.440  32
 9.  Piquet       Renault              (B)  1:37.180  + 1.550  30
10.  Vettel       Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:37.278  + 1.648  25
11.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault     (B)  1:37.491  + 1.861  26
12.  Button       Honda                (B)  1:37.619  + 1.989  25
13.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota      (B)  1:37.630  + 2.000  23
14.  Coulthard    Red Bull-Renault     (B)  1:37.638  + 2.008  22
15.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota      (B)  1:37.638  + 2.008  26
16.  Glock        Toyota               (B)  1:37.664  + 2.034  29
17.  Barrichello  Honda                (B)  1:37.827  + 2.197  28
18.  Trulli       Toyota               (B)  1:38.219  + 2.589  24
19.  Sutil        Force India-Ferrari  (B)  1:38.285  + 2.655  25
20.  Fisichella   Force India-Ferrari  (B)  1:38.479  + 2.849  26