Formula One news
Kovalainen fastest as Suzuka dries out
02 October 2009 / Results / PhotosHeikki Kovalainen and McLaren finished on top of the first practice session of the weekend in Japan after changeable conditions made for a slippery track at Suzuka. After the surface dried, the Finn's final effort led the way as local man Kazuki Nakajima was demoted to second place. Championship leader Jenson Button finished 18th.
Formula One made a welcome return to Suzuka on Thursday as the Japanese Grand Prix moves back to the Mie-Ken venue after two years at Fuji. The weather is likely to play a major part this weekend as, with Britain's Jenson Button and his Brawn GP team able to clinch the titles, rain arrived on Friday morning.
With the showers gone, the track remained wet as free practice began at 10am local time. With a lack of sunshine, however, track temperatures only just edged those of the air at 22° and 23°C respectively (72°F / 74°C). With more rain coming during the session, it eventually abated to allow the field to lower times almost by the lap; from the likes of 1:48.000 at the beginning of the 90-minute period, Kovalainen eventually topped the timesheets with 1:40.356.
A number of yellow flags may have appeared for small off-track excursions although there were remarkably few considering the tricky challenge for the drivers; Giancarlo Fisichella's Ferrari made its way through the sodden gravel of the Turn 11 hairpin although former team-mate Fernando Alonso - in his first session since being confirmed as a 2010-2012 Ferrari driver - was the luckiest man, narrowly missing the tyre barriers in the same place.
As Timo Glock suffers with a flu-like illness - picked up through air conditioning units - Toyota test driver Kamui Kobayashi replaced the German, who hopes to recover in time for Saturday qualifying. The local man ended the day 19th, ahead of Romain Grosjean's Renault; compatriot of Kobayashi, Kazuki Nakajima, was leading the way with just seconds to spare before Kovalainen lowered the bar.
With five different constructors in the top five places, Kovalainen set the benchmark from Nakajima's Williams with Adrian Sutil third for Force India, Fisichella's Ferrari fourth on its last run and Sébastien Buemi's Toro Rosso fifth. Brawn drivers Rubens Barrichello and Button wound up 9th and 18th, although no late on-track appearances is the reason for this. Buemi completed the most laps, with 26 to the Swiss driver's name.
The second practice session begins at 2pm local time (BST +8 / GMT +9).
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