UpdateF1 >> Formula 1 News > Toyota top on Friday

Tight tussle in field

Timo Glock put Japanese manufacturer Toyota on top of the charts at the end of practice on Friday with a stunning lap in the final session of the day. Whether or not it was for publicity or a representation of their actual pace is for Toyota to know and us media people to find out. Renault ace Fernando Alonso was the other surprise of the day as he finished only fractions behind Glock in second place.

Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren was not quite fast enough for first, but was only fractions off it as he finished third by 0.08 seconds. Title rival Felipe Massa shadowed him in the Ferrari, just fractions behind in fourth, while team mate Kimi Raikkonen finished the day in fifth fastest.

Mark Webber also sprang another surprise putting his Red Bull into a credible sixth position and equal on time with Williams' Kazuki Nakajima. Monza hero Sebastian Vettel was eighth in his Toro Rosso only a minor margin behind Webber and Nakajima.

Heikki Kovalainen in the second of the McLarens rounded out the top ten with the second Toyota of Jarno Trulli. The BMW team had a disappointing day with Robert Kubica finishing in 11th and Nick Heidfeld in a woeful 19th.

Nelson Piquet finished in 12th in his Renault, ten spots behind his team mate, but only .5 seconds off the pace. Nico Rosberg ended in 13th spot just ahead of Sebastien Bourdais, while the second home team of Honda had Rubens Barrichello finish the day 15th.

Adrian Sutil was first of the Force India cars to feature at 16th, while David Coulthard lagged behind his team mate in the second Red Bull. Giancarlo Fisichella had a miserable day down in 18th, only bettered by Jenson Button and his last place at Honda's home Grand Prix.

The mid pack including the Ferrari and McLaren cars is quite stacked, with only 1 second separating the top 17 cars, however don't expect it this way come qualifying tomorrow as the regular front runners will once again pull away.

Written: Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:07:59