The 2008 Japanese Grand Prix Thread

[Ed]

Raikkonen now on a quick lap. He is also on the softer compound

He moves into 3rd

Massa also on track on the softer compound
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Your predictions in 2010 - Drivers - Constructors

[Ed]

Massa moves into 3rd with a 1:18.617
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Your predictions in 2010 - Drivers - Constructors

[Ed]

20 minutes remain and the top 8 are: Glock, Hamilton, Massa, Raikkonen, Vettel, Trulli, Kubica and Kovalainen.

Glock has covered the most number of laps so far with 36.

Vettel the least with 19 laps
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Your predictions in 2010 - Drivers - Constructors

[Ed]

Final 10 minutes and not much change at this stage
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Your predictions in 2010 - Drivers - Constructors

[Ed]

Can Glock stay at the top of the timesheets with an expected light fuel load ?
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Your predictions in 2010 - Drivers - Constructors

[Ed]

Alonso goes second with a 1:18.426!
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Your predictions in 2010 - Drivers - Constructors

[Ed]

Massa on a quick lap!

He is 4th with a 1:18.491
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Your predictions in 2010 - Drivers - Constructors

[Ed]

With just 3 minutes remaining, 17 drivers are on the track
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Your predictions in 2010 - Drivers - Constructors

[Ed]

18 drivers now and Raikkonen on a flyer!
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Your predictions in 2010 - Drivers - Constructors

[Ed]

Session over, a few drivers on flyers....
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Your predictions in 2010 - Drivers - Constructors

[Ed]

No improvements. Top 8: Glock, Alonso, Hamilton, Massa, Raikkonen, Webber, Nakajima and Vettel
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Your predictions in 2010 - Drivers - Constructors

[Ed]

Full results from the 2nd practice session:

Position Driver Team Best Lap/Gap Total laps
1 Timo Glock Toyota 1:18.383 44
2 Fernando Alonso Renault 0.043 41
3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 0.080 40
4 Felipe Massa Ferrari 0.108 40
5 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 0.342 39
6 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 0.351 39
7 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 0.351 36
8 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 0.378 23
9 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 0.420 32
10 Jarno Trulli Toyota 0.480 45
11 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 0.482 39
12 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 0.505 43
13 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 0.598 41
14 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 0.657 41
15 Rubens Barrichello Honda 0.875 42
16 Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari 0.904 41
17 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 0.944 36
18 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1.099 44
19 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1.511 37
20 Jenson Button Honda 1.616 42
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Your predictions in 2010 - Drivers - Constructors

[Ed]

Team by team summary following Friday practice (GMM):

TOYOTA

Not fast in the morning, but Timo Glock learned the circuit quickly and ended the day with the fastest time at the track owned by Toyota. "It will obviously be difficult to keep the position for the whole weekend," the German acknowledged.


RENAULT

Fernando Alonso was inside the top five in both sessions, and P2 in the afternoon. "It's difficult to judge the hierarchy after the first couple of sessions," said engine boss Denis Chevrier.


MCLAREN-MERCEDES AND FERRARI

Title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa were closely matched for pace on Friday, with Hamilton wielding a fractional edge in both 90-minute sessions. "It seems very finely balanced with the lap times all very close," said Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, fifth.


RED BULL-RENAULT

Mark Webber was sixth fastest in the afternoon, six tenths and 11 places ahead of his teammate David Coulthard.


WILLIAMS-TOYOTA

Local driver Kazuki Nakajima was faster than his highly rated teammate Nico Rosberg in both sessions. "It's definitely going to be more difficult here than it was in Singapore for us," said Rosberg, who finished F1's night race second two weeks ago.


TORO ROSSO-FERRARI

Sebastian Vettel was in the top-eight all day, but he lamented losing afternoon track time with an hydraulic problem. "For race setup I would have preferred more time to do some long runs," he said.


BMW-SAUBER

Nick Heidfeld, who spun in the morning, had technical problems in the afternoon but was also simply slow. Robert Kubica was eleventh fastest. "We are lacking overall grip," said the Pole.


HONDA

While Rubens Barrichello is targeting Q2, Jenson Button recorded the slowest best time of the three hours of practice at Fuji Speedway. "Our car is not well suited to this circuit," said engineering boss Steve Clark.


FORCE INDIA-FERRARI

Adrian Sutil was as high as 11th in the morning and still in front of his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella in the afternoon. "I just feel good here," said the German, who knows the Fuji layout well thanks to his days in Japan F3.
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Your predictions in 2010 - Drivers - Constructors

[Ed]

Saturday practice session starting shortly.

Air and track temperature are at 20 degrees.

It is cloudy and the track is damp but it isn't raining at this stage!
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Your predictions in 2010 - Drivers - Constructors

[Ed]

Session undeway and Rosberg is the first out on the track. The rest fully behind.

The track is very wet in some areas.
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Your predictions in 2010 - Drivers - Constructors