|
Qualifying positions in Turkey:
1. F Massa (Ferrari)
2. H Kovalainen (McLaren)
3. L Hamilton (McLaren)
4. K Raikkonen (Ferrari)
5. R Kubica (BMW Sauber)
6. M Webber (Red Bull)
7. F Alonso (Renault)
8. J Trulli (Toyota)
9. N Heidfeld (BMW Sauber)
10. D Coulthard (Red Bull)
LATEST ACTION(all times BST)
To get involved, text us on 81111 (UK users only) or contribute to 606
1310: Right, that's it from me. See you tomorrow when I'll be chatting you through the Grand Prix itself, with a start time of 1300 BST. Jubbly.
1305: McLaren boss Ron Dennis is happy enough with the grid, explaining Lewis Hamilton made the choice to go out on the hard tyres as he felt more comfortable on those. The fact that championship leader Kimi Raikkonen lies back in fourth is obviously helping his mood, one would assume.
Felipe Massa, meanwhile, salutes his third pole position in Turkey in three years. He loves it at Istanbul Park.
"Massa will throw it away at the first corner tomorrow."
mysteriousblablabla on 606
1302: MASSA GRABS POLE POSITION
1301: Massa is almost assured of pole with a fantastic lap of 1:27.617, with Kovalainen pipping team-mate Hamilton to second - a result of the better tyres, that, no question. Raikkonen is down in fourth - Hamilton will be happy with that. Tremendous work from Mark Webber in the Red Bull, coming through in sixth.
1300: Massa and Kovalainen are storming through...
1259: Lewis Hamilton seems to have got things ticking nicely... and he comes through second fastest and quickest out of everyone on the final sector.
1257: Kovalainen has gone out on softs - and with Hamilton still on the hards, the Briton might struggle to match his rivals' pace.
1256: An absolute flyer from Massa as he goes round in 1:27.896 and that puts him top of the charts. A question over fuel loads but Hamilton's lap apparently suffered from a mistake in the middle sector.
1254: Hamilton fastest through sector one - and a lap of 1:29.093 puts him quickest.
1253: All the cars are out, now, but no-one appears to be pulling up trees at the moment.
1252: Nick Heidfeld goes out... and comes straight back in. A possible set-up change for the German and he comes back on the Tarmac on softs.
1250: Four Grands Prix and four different pole sitters so far this season... what are the odds on a fifth driver heading the front row in 10 or so minutes? Q3 is under way.
1247: Talk of a problem for Lewis Hamilton is being played down by those on the pit scene... it's a touch hard for me to judge stuck in Television Centre in west London, I won't lie, so I'll take their word for it.
"I smell an upset..."
huhuhuguy on 606
1244: Rosberg, Barrichello, Button, Vettel and Glock are the drivers to drop out after Q2. Timo Glock won't be happy with that after such an encouraging Q1.
1243: Hamilton might have a problem as he rushed back into the pits with only the sixth fastest time of the session.
1242: Button, Barrichello, Glock - and Nico Rosberg, surprisingly - struggling below the top 10 as it stands. Robert Kubica splits the two Ferraris with the second fastest time of Q2 - he's a real contender this weekend on this form, you would think.
1241: ...And the Finn's only third fastest in the end. Shame.
1240: Kovalainen is fastest of anyone this weekend in sector one... but an error on turn seven seems to have slowed him right down...
1238: Everyone, bar the two BMWs who are making their way back, are in the pits. The calm before the storm...
1237: Kubica is steaming through at the moment, posting the fastest middle section of everyone this weekend... but he can't finish it off and his lap is slower than Hamilton's.
1235: Massa goes round second fastest... Hamilton's first lap of Q2 is fourth tenths slower than Raikkonen - a mistake in turn eight apparently.
1234: Raikkonen zips to the top of the charts with a lap of 1:26.050. Ferrari starting to impress here.
1233: David Coulthard, full of confidence, tops the early Q2 charts with a lap of 1:26.522 - nice. Fernando Alonso floors it, though, to just pip him by a couple of hundredths of a second.
"I think Massa will take pole but my heart is for Lewis to win this GP."
huhuhuguy on 606
"Perhaps Ferrari not as dominant as in previous weekends...they're still topping the timesheets though!"
gilottil on 606
1230: Just under 12 minutes to go in Q2 and it looks like Honda have turned to the soft tyres.
1227: So, with Ferrari, McLaren and BMW all looking on the pace so far, who out of Renault, Red Bull and Toyota - whose pace has surprised everyone, I think - can gatecrash the party do we think? Or is it a top-six lockout?
1221: Topsy-turvy Q1, that, but it's bad news for Sutil, Fisichella, Bourdais, Piquet and Nakajima, who all drop out. Williams and Renault won't be happy with that, but Toyota will be delighted by Glock's run.
1220: Massa zips through just before the end of the session with the weekend's fastest lap of 1:25.994 to go ahead of Hamilton, who is happy with his early run and he and Kovalainen are sat in the pits. Jarno Trulli goes fourth with a cracking run - temporarily, before Glock comes in fourth.
1218: Raikkonen, despite lying P2, goes out again - trying something out is he? Button posts the 12th fastest time and he is through Q1 as it stands.
1217: Less than three minutes to go and the Hondas of Button and Barrichello are still in the pits, deciding on tyre choice. Button goes with hards by the look of things, Barrichello softs...
1215: Robert Kubica's first lap is only ninth fastest, he'll be looking to pick it up in the middle sector in particular.
"Ferrari are struggling so far. Not looking good..."
King_lfc786 on 606
1216: Better from Raikkonen and Massa as they go second and third, but Hamilton's lap still tops the timesheets. Better from Kubica, again on the hards, as he goes fifth.
1213: The BMWs are out and about...
1211: Webber, on the harder tyre, goes slower than team-mate Coulthard but goes sixth, with Fernando Alonso now seventh. Jenson Button posts a poor time to lie 17th as it stands.
1210: BMW keeping their powder very dry at the moment, with less than 10 minutes to go in Q1 and them still sat in the pits.
1208: A ripper indeed from Hamilton on the hard tyres as he posts 1:26.192 to comfortably top the charts. A chance for McLaren to upset the Ferraris in qualifying perhaps? David Coulthard goes fifth with an encouraging run.
1207: Comfortably quickest lap time from Raikkonen, but Lewis Hamilton has ripped through sector one, posting the quickest section time of the weekend so far. Heikki Kovalainen is proving no slouch either as he goes P1 on his first run.
1206: Kimi Raikkonen is out on the track.
1205: A quick reminder that, as well as this coverage of qualifying, we've got all the latest news and action from the Championship play-off between Crystal Palace and Bristol City. The dashingly handsome Jonathan Stevenson is talking you through that.
1204: Timo Glock nets a lap time of 1:27.539
1203: Fisichella posts the first time with a lap of 1:29.273 - no more than a warm-up lap really. The likes of Bourdais, Vettel and Sutil are all out now.
"Come on Lewis - be amazing!"
Elizabeth may pink via text
1200: Giancarlo Fisichella is first out on the circuit as the likes of Red Bull and McLaren make their final preparations.
1159: We're just moments away now people, settle in for what could be a cracking qualifying session...
1153: Little weather update for you and, with the Turkish Grand Prix brought forward on the calendar, the traditional hot and sunny skies have been replaced with overcast conditions at Istanbul Park, although it is dry as it stands despite forecasts of rain.
"Ferrari are running heavy loads my friend, probably the same as the McLaren as well. Fernando Alonso is, at best, 5th on the grid, with fuel corrected."
ricardoranger on 606
1150: Alright, who wants a refresh of the qualifying rules?
Well, Super Aguri's withdrawal from the 2008 World Championship leaves only 20 cars on the starting grid for the first time since the Chinese Grand Prix back at the end of the 2005 campaign.
As such, the qualifying format will be altered with immediate effect, so that five cars drop out of both Q1 and Q2 rather than six, with 10 still going through to the final Q3 shoot-out
1145: We couldn't be in for a shock front-row line-up at Istanbul Park could we?
Red Bull driver and BBC Sport columnist Mark Webber surprisingly topped the time charts in final practice on Saturday, with the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen and the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa well down the pecking order.
Fans of those drivers will be hoping heavier fuel loads are to blame for their slow pace, but Ferrari in particular are thought to be struggling with the car's set-up following gearbox problems on Friday.
Still, barring mechanical problems, the Ferraris remain favourites to lock out the front row at the demanding circuit.
The track's technical layout - punctuated by long, sweeping bends - seems tailor-made to emphasise the Ferrari's strengths.
But can Hamilton and McLaren, BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica or even double world champion Fernando Alonso in the Renault - who have all started on the front row this season - get in among the red cars?
Or can Webber stun the masses and land a maiden pole position?
Qualifying kicks off at 1200 BST, so get in touch on 606 or via text on 81111.
|
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~34~RS~)
E-mail this to a friend
Printable version
© MMVIII
Bookmark with:
What are these?