Singapore 2008: Friday Morning Practice

A little late – qualifying is due to begin in about an hour or so, but here ae the practice times from yesterday, which saw the drivers venture out onto the artificially lit Singapore street circuit for the first time in preparation for Sunday’s race. All in all, the sesions went well and there were only a couple of moments. Mark Webber slammed his Red Bull into the entrance of the tunnel, and the bumps caused a few airborne situations for the pilots.

Lewis Hamilton went fastest in the morning session, but both Ferraris were very close behind and Felipe Massa was within a tenth of the McLaren drivers’ time. Mark Webber could only complete four laps before breaking the front of this car at the tunnel, and Jarno Trulli decided, after spinning on the start/finish straight, to drive the wrong way up the track for a few metres so he could get into the pitlane. For this, the Italian was severly reprimanded and fined, although Trulli believes he chose the safetst option at the time.

Rubens Barrichello also claimed a special connection with the barriers, although his Honda was too badly damaged. Nico Rosberg and Nelson Piquet Jr. appeared to run well, Rosberg finishing in sixth and Piquet in nineth. Jenson Button in tenth was also a nice surprise although the Red Bull four didn’t do so well, with Sebastian Vettel in eleventh, team mate Sebastien Bourdais in fourteenth, David Coulthard in fifteenth and Webber sulking somewhere in the motorhome.

Singapore 2008: Friday Free Practice One