Formula One news

Steady start for McLaren drivers

McLaren Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen finished Friday's second Free Practice for the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours in fourth and seventh positions respectively. Hamilton completed 29 laps and set a time of 1m16.232 whilst Kovalainen did 36 laps and ended the day with a 1m16.340. In the morning session, Hamilton was second fastest with a 1.16.002 (22 laps) ahead of Kovalainen with a 1.16.055 (20 laps).

Hamilton said about his two 90-minute free practice sessions: "We made a great deal of progress this morning and seemed to get the car dialled in nicely to the circuit. This afternoon, I unfortunately had a twitchy moment at the exit of Turn Three and ran wide into the gravel. It cut short my run with no major damage and slightly disturbed our run programme. At the end of the session, we tried out a new Safety Car timing system, which still needs a little more work at the moment. But today has shown we're looking quick this weekend."

Kovalainen said: "This is a circuit I've always enjoyed - the sweeping corners and fast chicanes really suit my style and I quickly felt at home. It's been a pretty straightforward day: during the afternoon, we worked on the set-up and tyre comparison runs without any problems. I'm happy with the balance of the car in both the slow and fast corners and I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

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