Formula One news

Hamilton surprises in final practice

Lewis Hamilton unpredictably put his McLaren top of final practice for the French Grand Prix after Ferrari had dominated the session. Hamilton's best of 1:14.843s was just under a tenth quicker than second-fastest Felipe Massa with Kimi Raikkonen in third. Fernando Alonso did not put in a flier until the very last moments and was eighth fastest.

Renault looked strong in front of its home crowd with fourth and fifth fastest via Heikki Kovalainen and Giancarlo Fisichella. Robert Kubica was solid in sixth for BMW Sauber just ahead of Nico Rosberg's Williams. Jarno Trulli and David Coulthard then rounded off the top ten behind Alonso. Nick Heidfeld was 15th in the second BMW Sauber after the driver complained of back pains yesterday. Mark Webber will also be disappointed with 20th fastest although the midfield appears as competitive as ever with just half a second separating seventh and 19th places.

This morning's session took place in sunny conditions with the air temperature averaging at 21 degrees Celsius. The first 15 minutes was largely uneventful with the top teams doing routine installation laps whilst some of the slower teams tried to push on with preparing the cars ahead of this afternoon's qualifying. It had almost reached the halfway mark when Kimi Raikkonen usurped fellow Finn Heikki Kovalainen from the top of the timesheets with a time of 1:15.828s. The session was then red-flagged after officials worried about the outside kerb on the final corner being loose. Practice re-started five minutes later after FIA's chief race director Charlie Whiting decided it would be best to cut the loose section off completely, which was done immediately with a Stanley knife. 

Felipe Massa came out after the break to go fastest with a time of 1:15.422s, which put the two Ferraris almost a second clear of the rest of the field with just the McLarens left to set a competitive lap. Lewis Hamilton then split the pair with a 1:15.625s before Raikkonen responded by coming within a whisker of Massa's time. Meanwhile the two Renaults of Kovalainen and Giancarlo Fisichella were looking strong in fourth and fifth, with the rookie Finn improving to get within half a second of the pace-setter. Both drivers had seemed to be struggling with handling problems  - both having off moments  - yet their pace looked promising. With 15 minutes left on the clocks there was an uncharacteristic moment from Alexander Wurz who almost planted his Williams into the tyre barrier on the entrance to the pits as he dived down the inside of Raikkonen's Ferrari. Massa set the fastest time of the weekend with a 1:15.031s but not for long as Hamilton continued to amaze by bringing the mark down to 1:14.843s.  

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