Heikki Kovalainen set out to prove that he will not play second fiddle to Lewis Hamilton this weekend, and he did that by setting the fastest time in the second Friday practice session.
The Finn set a time of 1:19:989 which was over half a second faster than anyone else could muster.
Surprisingly, it was not one of the usual front runners who challenged him, but Mark Webber in his Red Bull. Webber had shown brilliant pace throughout the session, and when I caught up with him after the session, he had this to say.
"It was a great session. We know that we have very good pace, but our racing pace is what really matters, and we still have a bit of work to do there. I'm happy though, I really enjoyed it."
Webber set a time of 1:20:520, which was enough to finish ahead of Lewis Hamilton who set a time of 1:20:543. Webber's teammate David Coulthard made sure that Red Bull made a size-able impression today by securing fourth place.
The Scot, who will retire at the end of the season, set a time of 1:20:589. Nico Rosberg managed to get fifth after setting a time of 1:20:748. He was closely followed by the Toro Rosso of Sebastien Vettel who set a time of 1:20:805.
Jenson Button pleased the home crowd by finishing in seventh place with a time of 1:20:929.
Felipe Massa managed to finish in eighth place after the Ferrari team managed to rebuild the car after his heavy shunt in session one. It was a surprisingly low-key session for the Italian outfit, with Massa setting a time of 1:20:943.
Kazuki Nakajima continued his fine form by finishing in ninth place with a time of 1:20:985, and Rubens Barrichello rounded out the top 10 with a time of 1:21:002.
BMW Sauber, Ferrari and Renault all had surprisngly low-key sessions. BMW drivers Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld set times of 1:21:023 and 1:21:453 respectively.
Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen set times of 1:20:943 and 1:21:275 respectively. It is thought that both of these teams were running extremely high fuel loads throughout the session.
Renault however, were believed to be running as normal, with about 15 laps of fuel as they left their garages. The plan was apparently to achieve good pace to get some impression for qualifying, but their times will not help the efforts of the team.
Fernando Alonss and Nelson Piquet set times of 1:21:511 and 1:21:642 respectively.
Well, for me it was an interesting experience. I sat at an empty pit wall which was interesting. I had all these monitors in-front of me. I could study everything.
I managed to meet Mark Webber as well, so it was a good day overall. Well, apart from the Donny announcement.
That was very unpopular among the drivers, who only this week had reiterated their desire to race here for the years to come.
I'll be back tonight with my diary, and I'm off for a drink with that fit pit babe. Yes Mark Andrew, I bagged her. Ha-ha.
See you tomorrow for three articles. Firstly the morning practice session, then a qualifying report, and if I recap it quickly enough, my interview with some unknown guy called Lewis Hamilton.
Never heard of him....Ha-ha.
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3 months ago
Vrooooooom Heikki - if not for one Finna, another Finn!
from 3 months ago
he's doing a good job this weekend.
3 months ago
Firstly Great Pic Of Heikki And His Whip . Secondly Im Glad You Bagged The Pit Girl , Ill Have To Go One Better Next Year At The Dreaded Donny Park By Baggin Lewis Hamiltons Pussy Cat , Once She Sees My Offerings That Muppet In The Mclaren Will Have No Chance Ha Ha . Joke . Tell Lewis I Want A Signed Hat Or Summat Seeing As Tho I Have Watched Every Race Religiously Since OZ 2007 Just To Cheer Him On , Including Bein Up At 4 In The Morning To Make Sure I Didnt Miss Fuji . The Little Sh** Put Me Through Hell .
from 3 months ago
oooh, a signed hat would be good wouldn't it. I'll try mate. Pit girl was nice, but she had baggage if u no what I mean, so I was a bit like "I have got to yeah, erm...bye" lol.
Donny will not be finished by 2010. that is guaranteed.
3 months ago
Way to score with that pitbabe Michael!
Oh yeah, and great report :)
from 3 months ago
yep, but when i arrived at the bar there, she had her kid in tow, and I was like "I have got to yeah, erm...bye" lol.
thnaks for the compliment though. doing me best here.
from 3 months ago
Ah, oh well. Next time, my friend!
3 months ago
Howay Mr Griffin .. If ur gonna lie at least make it believable ... You could have said that you copped off with the woman who serves the tea at the press conference ... Or that bird who checks your press pass at he paddock entrance ... But a pit girl ... Come on, ha ha ha ha ! ... Now ur just rubbing it in, ur annoying me now, not only r u there and I am here but ur chatting up pit babes, ur annoying me man ! Ha ha ... Wish I could be down there with you !
GREAT to see Heikki looking quick ... I just hope he can carry this over to the qualifying ... I would love to see a McLaren pit lock out and a McLaren 1-2 ... Ohhhhh what a dream !
from 3 months ago
haha, i knew it would get in some peoples bonnet. as I said earlier, she had a kid in tow. never have i made such a quick escape.
mclaren 1-2 on home soil would be great, stuff it to ferrari and their friends.
from 3 months ago
Ha ha ha ... Baggage ... AAAAGGGGHHHH !
COME ON MCLAREN !
3 months ago
Way to be a bona-fide journalist, young man! Great work!
from 3 months ago
thanks a lot Adam.
3 months ago
Mate I Feel For Ya , That Could Well Of Been The Highlight Of The Whole Week , You In Your VW California with a pit Babe , Not Lewis Hamilton Offering Her Champagne But Michael With His Smirnoff Ice :-) . , You Can Pass Her On This Way tho Ha ha . Baggage Is But Merely A Word . Most Girls These days Who Dont Have Children Have Baggage Of The Mental Kind .
I Made A Little Mistake Saying Donny Next Year , Im Still In Shox mode . And Yeah A Siged Cap , And If He Tells You That You Have To Buy A Cap First Then Ring Me While You Are With Him . And I shall Say Oiiiiii Hamilton ......NOOOO , Mclaren Signed Caps Are Free And They Will Be Free Forever .
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