Formula One news

Raikkonen leads early practice

Kimi Raikkonen led a Ferrari-dominated first practice session at the new Fuji circuit in Japan. The Finn was 0.379s quicker than team mate Felipe Massa and 0.5s ahead of Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard had the early edge over championship leader Lewis Hamilton by 0.14s.

Massa was fastest for much of the morning before Raikkonen began hooking up his laps late in the session. McLaren looked unable to do much more than third and fourth. Nico Rosberg continued to show strong form for Williams in fifth and team mate Wurz was seventh, the team mates separated by the BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica.

Trulli, Sutil and Davidson rounded off the top ten. Local hero Sato ended the session seventeenth after spending the first hour of practice stranded in the pits with mechanics working on his car.

more news

• 05 Sep.
  • McLaren pleased with first day
  • Raikkonen crash hinders Ferrari preparations
  • Renault lifted by Alonso's pace
  • BMWs struggle on Friday
  • Toyota looking for more pace
  • Force India happy with practice
  • Toro Rossos going well at Spa
  • New parts working well for Williams
  • Honda struggling at Spa
  • Mixed day for Red Bull
  • Alonso tops second practice
  • McLaren to open office in US
  • Massa tops first free practice at Spa
  • Photos: Friday at Spa-Francorchamps
  • Vettel to test Red Bull this month
• 04 Sep.
  • Massa eyes up vital six final races
  • Raikkonen hopes for dry weekend
  • Photos: Thursday at Spa-Francorchamps
  • Coulthard: The engines make the difference
• 03 Sep.
  • Bridgestone going hard on Spa
  • Former Albers manager teams up with Doornbos
  • Massa: Beating Raikkonen will be difficult at Spa
  • Belgian Grand Prix technical preview
• 02 Sep.
  • Raikkonen: I need a good result at Spa
  • Button: Spa is just great!
  • Brawn hopes for mixed weather conditions
  • Toro Rosso invites Sato and Buemi for test
  • Glock hoping to score more points
  • Renault not giving up on fourth
  • Piquet determined to score at Spa
• 01 Sep.
  • Ecclestone supports Mosley
  • Trulli expects another strong weekend
  • Alonso determined to bounce back
  • Cregan to leave Toyota at end of season
  • Belgian Grand Prix snap shot
  • Mercedes boss expects tight end to season
• 31 Aug.
  • Alonso pleased with test progress
  • Honda still looking for Monza set up
• 30 Aug.
  • Force India eyes Honda after test progress
  • BMW boss wants both cars in the points

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