Fernando Alonso: “This Track Has Never Been Kind to Me”
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Jun 16, 2007
McLaren
2007 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX FREE PRACTICE
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Fernando Alonso emerged fastest from both of Friday’s free practice sessions for the United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis. In the morning, Fernando did 16 laps and set a best time of 1m11.925 followed by 35 laps and a best time of 1m12.156 in the second session. Lewis Hamilton was third and second fastest, with lap times of 1m12.628 and 1m12.309 respectively. Lewis completed 21 laps in the first session and 34 laps in the afternoon.
FERNANDO ALONSO
“It’s nice to be back in Indianapolis and so far things are looking promising. As I have said before this track has never been kind to me, but I really want to do well this weekend. The car has been performing strongly at the last couple of races and today in practice, but I am sure that both Ferrari and BMW will be at the front as well. We completed our normal Friday practice programme looking at tyre evaluation and general set-up work. There is a lot of data to consider overnight, but so far things are looking good for the team. ”
LEWIS HAMILTON
“As this was the first time I have ever driven at the Indianapolis track I spent some time just getting to know the circuit. The really tricky bit is the mid-section as it’s very tight and twisty. We spent our time fine tuning the set-up and evaluating the two different tyre options provided by Bridgestone this weekend. In the first part of the second session I ran a little wide and did some minor damage to the aerodynamic fences which took a little time for the guys to repair. We have a pretty good idea of where we are going, and it looks like we should be competitive, but as always Friday is only the start of the weekend – there is a long way to go. ”
RON DENNIS
“It’s nice to be back in Indianapolis where we completed our scheduled programme for Friday. Both Fernando and Lewis focussed on tyre evaluation, set-up work and for Lewis some general track familiarisation. We look forward to what we hope will be a competitive weekend for the team. ”
NORBERT HAUG
“A good start to the weekend with both drivers completing their planned programmes. We look competitive but the lap times are very close so it’s too early to judge. ”
Session 2
Pos Driver Constructor Time Laps
1 Fernando Alonso Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m12.156
2 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m12.309
3 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari 1m12.435
4 Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari 1m12.587
5 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1m13.026
6 David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 1m13.042
7 Nico Rosberg Williams F1 1m13.057
8 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1m13.110
9 Rubens Barrichello Honda Racing 1m13.144
10 Jenson Button Honda Racing 1m13.202
11 Sebastian Vettel BMW Sauber 1m13.217
12 Mark Webber Williams F1 1m13.263
13 Tonio Luizzi Toro Rosso 1m13.332
14 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri 1m13.364
15 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1m13.394
16 Alex Wurz Williams F1 1m13.539
17 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1m13.692
18 Scott Speed Toro Rosso 1m13.712
19 Takuma Sato Super Aguri 1m13.753
20 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1m13.765
21 Christijan Albers Spyker F1 1m14.225
22 Adrian Sutil Spyker F1 1m14.513
Session 1
Pos Driver Constructor Time Laps
1 Fernando Alonso Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m11.925
2 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1m12.391
3 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m12.628
4 Sebastian Vettel BMW Sauber 1m12.869
5 Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari 1m12.966
6 Nico Rosberg Williams F1 1m13.020
7 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari 1m13.040
8 David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 1m13.159
9 Jenson Button Honda Racing 1m13.597
10 Mark Webber Williams F1 1m13.682
11 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1m13.777
12 Narain Karthikeyan Williams F1 1m13.786
13 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1m13.819
14 Tonio Luizzi Toro Rosso 1m13.907
15 Scott Speed Toro Rosso 1m13.990
16 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1m14.000
17 Takuma Sato Super Aguri 1m14.037
18 Rubens Barrichello Honda Racing 1m14.052
19 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1m14.189
20 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri 1m14.632
21 Christijan Albers Spyker F1 1m14.636
22 Adrian Sutil Spyker F1 1m14.810
