Planet-F1

Fri: Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, BMW

Friday 9th May 2008

Kimi Raikkonen set the pace in Istanbul while McLaren, Red Bull and BMW featured in the top six.

Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen: Not the best of Fridays. This morning, I only managed one timed lap before a gearbox problem meant I could not go out for the rest of the session. In the afternoon, I struggled a bit to find the right settings on the car. One of the main problems today was getting the tyres up to the correct temperature, but I think that tomorrow, partly as the grip level on the track improves and partly as we work to improve the set-up, it will be a different situation. We lost valuable time this morning, but we still have enough data to analyse so that we can be ready to tackle the rest of the weekend."

Felipe Massa: Overall, this was a positive day. The track is very fast, even if it's still a bit dirty, which meant it was quite easy to make mistakes. The low temperatures mean it is difficult to get the most out of the tyres on a first timed lap, especially on the harder ones. We tried various settings and now we need to look at the data from everything we have done over these three hours, to be as well prepared as possible. I feel comfortable on this track and I think I can be very competitive tomorrow and on Sunday in the race: it would be fantastic to win again here, after having done it for the past two years."

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton: We focused on tyre evaluation and set-up work today and so far things are not looking too bad. Everybody lost a bit of running time in the first session as the track was still wet in places after cleaning. This circuit is constantly evolving which is challenging but also enjoyable. In the first session I stayed on the same set of tyres throughout and experienced no problems. In my last run of the day I put on a new set of tyres but had a small moment which cost me some time. Overall I am pleased with our initial pace and consistency."

Heikki Kovalainen: It was nice to get back in the car again and everything was fine. I was on the pace immediately and was able to set some consistent lap times. At the end of the first session I went out on the option tyre but the brake temperature was not quite right, so I was not able to go flat out in that run. The second session went smoothly as well, and we focused on tyre evaluation with some long runs as well as looking at the set-up. A very productive and positive day."

Red Bull
David Coulthard: Today was similar to the Friday session in Spain - there were no major problems, it was all about following the track evolution and making sure we had the balance right. There are a lot of long corners on this circuit, you can see people are going off quite easily, so it's critical to get the front end right here. We'll look at the data now and decide what we'll do for tomorrow."

Mark Webber: Going off the track at Turn 6 was 100 percent my fault. I didn't respect the green Astroturf that sits on the outside of the track enough. I was a bit too loaded up on the outside of the track, the Astroturf was a bit damp, and I went off, it was my fault. I apologise to the guys and we'll bounce back from this tomorrow."

BMW
Robert Kubica: Unfortunately I didn't have too much time on the track this morning due to a small technical problem. Therefore we had to squeeze the morning work into this afternoon's programme. We only did four runs and had to work on the tyres and the set up. We still have a few problems with the balance of the car, but tested several set up options which we will now evaluate and then choose the best one. I am confident for tomorrow."

Nick Heidfeld: The trouble is I don't get the tyres heated up quickly enough. The long run wasn't bad. As soon as the tyres start to work, it is okay, but it takes too long to get there. We now have to work on that."