The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Hamilton on course for more glory

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Hamilton on course for more glory

PARIS: Lewis Hamilton looks set to continue his love affair with the Canadian Grand Prix after setting the fastest time of the day in Friday practice.

Hamilton claimed his first Grand Prix victory in Montreal last year and will be hopeful of a repeat on Sunday after setting a blistering fastest lap of 1:15.753 in his McLaren.

Hamilton had barely emerged from the garage during the rain-hit morning practice session, but the World championship leader showed his quality in the afternoon, twice recording rapid late laps to remove BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica from the top of the timesheet.

Afterwards Hamilton said: “it’s great to be back in Montreal, the scene of my first Grand Prix victory. In the afternoon, we were able to improve the car on every run — I felt very comfortable with the set-up and balance, particularly when we switched to the option tyre, which allowed me to lean on the car as the track conditions improved.

“We’ve still got some work to do ahead of qualifying and the race, but we’ve already got some positive running under our belts.”

Kubica, who suffered a terrible crash at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve last year, enjoyed a very strong day, finishing second quickest in each practice session and setting a fastest lap just two-tenths of a second slower than Hamilton’s.

Ferrari’s flying-Finn Kimi Raikkonen, lying just three points behind Hamilton in the standings, was third quickest in the afternoon and looked to be in particularly good form.

The reigning World champion was twice denied from posting a quick lap due to traffic in the middle sector of the circuit.

Hamilton’s teammate Heikki Kovalainen was fourth fastest, while Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was fifth fastest in practice session two after leading the times in the morning.

The Brazilian missed out on the final 15 minutes of the afternoon session when his Ferrari seemed to suffer a technical failure.

Nick Heidfeld was sixth fastest in his BMW Sauber with Mark Webber of Red Bull and Nico Rosberg of Williams seventh and eighth respectively.

Germany’s Sebastien Vettel was ninth fastest for Toro Rosso with Jarno Trulli rounding off the top 10 in his Toyota.

It was a frustrating afternoon for Renault with double World champion Fernando Alonso missing the last half hour of the session after a spin and Nelson Piquet’s efforts ending even earlier by a suspected brake failure.

Free practice timings (top 10): Second session: 1. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1min 15.752secs; 2. Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) 1:16.023; 3. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:16.093; 4. Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) 1:16.331; 5. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:16.413; 6. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) 1:16.589; 7. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:16.604; 8. Nico Rosberg (Williams) 1:16.767; 9. Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) 1:17.019; 10. Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 1:17.068; 14. Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India) 1:17.508; 18. Adrian Sutil (Force India) 1:17.813.

First session: 1. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:17.553; 2. Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) 1:17.809; 3. Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) 1:18.133; 4. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) 1:18.182; 5. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:18.292; 6. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1:18.303; 7. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:18.712; 8. David Coulthard (Red Bull) 1:18.809; 9. Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) 1:18.971; 10. Fernando Alonso (Renault) 1:19.005; 15. Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India) 1:19.815; 16. Adrian Sutil (Force India) 1:19.888. — Agencies

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