Formula One news

McLaren confident despite Friday positions

McLaren Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen finished Friday's free practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in fourth and seventh positions respectively. Lewis completed 25 laps and set a best time of 1m23.983. Heikki did 29 laps with a fastest of 1m24.365.

"Obviously, it was very wet this morning so we only did the bare minimum of running - namely one installation lap," said Hamilton. "The afternoon's session started in slightly mixed conditions, the circuit was drying, but with damp patches, so there was little to gain from going out early. However, by the end of the session we got some useful mileage under our belts, and I'm happy with our progress."

Kovalainen commented, "I'm happy that we managed to get some dry running in before the end of the session. The weather this morning was unbelievable - it's usually so bright and sunny at Monza. The rain meant that, like everyone, we didn't get to finish our run programme so we have a little bit more work to do tomorrow morning. Nonetheless, I'm happy with the progress we've made."

Team boss Ron Dennis added, "The heavy rains effectively reduced us to effectively zero running in the opening practice session. This afternoon, we concentrated on running on heavy fuel-loads in order to refine our race set-up and tyre choice for Sunday's grand prix. We've made good progress in both areas and are looking competitive for the rest of the weekend."

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