Kovalainen tops Turkish Grand Prix 2009 practice

McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen topped the timesheets in Friday’s second practice session for the Turkish Grand Prix.

Kovalainen‘s one minute 28.841 second lap in the second session beat Fernando Alonso of Renault by just 0.006secs.

Championship leader Jenson Button was 12th in his Brawn – one place ahead of world champion Lewis Hamilton, who said he was hoping to qualify in the top 10.

Williams’s Nico Rosberg was fastest in the morning as the day’s running gave little indication of form for the race.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, whose team are tipped for a strong showing, stopped on the track after just four laps of the second session with a suspected driveshaft failure.

The dusty conditions at the Istanbul Park track posed problems throughout the day.

Hamilton was one of several drivers to spin – the world champion losing control of his car twice in quick succession as he explored the limits of grip.

Renault’s Alonso, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, and Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima, who finished fourth fastest, were just three of 10 drivers to experience off-track moments in the second session.

There was better news for Robert Kubica whose revamped BMW Sauber, complete with new double-decker diffuser, was third fastest in the second session to give the Polish driver his best practice result of the season.

The morning’s first practice session was briefly brought to a halt by the red flag when the artificial turf at the front of the run off area at the exit to Turn One was damaged as several cars ran off line.

Sourse BBC