Silverstone 2008: Friday Morning Practice

On a day when news appears to be coming at me from all quarters, it is nice to report on some racing for once, or at least, almost racing. This morning saw the Formula One teams go about their free practice sessions, and after the first 90 minute run in the morning, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was the fastest. The Brazilian surprisingly managed to achieve this despite crashing after just eight laps. However, Heikki Kovalainen couldn’t quite beat the time and came in a close second.

With about 30 minutes of the session left, Fernando Alonso’s Renault V8 expired on the run down to Stowe and deposited oil on the track. Unfortunately for Felipe, this caught him out and the Ferrari pilot had a heavy accident, causing substantial damage to the rear of the car. Massa was unhurt in the accident, but had to sit out the rest of the session.

The practice run was put on pause while the marshals retrieved the F2008 from the barrier and they cleaned up the oil from the Renault. Alonso did his best to get his car off the track after the blow up, but the oil spillage was too much and needless-to-say, little could have been done to avoid the racing line being tarnished.

Giancarlo Fisichella, who has been deemed fit to race following his heavy shunt during last week’s test, had a minor off over the gravel which inhibited Heikki Kovalainen’s potentially faster final run. The Finn is looking very good thus far in the weekend and has been vowing to press that his championship hunt is not yet over.

Silverstone 2008: Friday Free Practice One