After a hard week of testing and development the Formula 1 teams got their first chance to see how much progress they had made in today's two practice sessions for the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours. And this first day brought promising news for the Scuderia Ferrari, with both cars topping the timesheets in both of the sessions, leaving the McLarens trailing in their wake.
It was a slightly troubled day in general for McLaren with Lewis Hamilton's car breaking down on track in the first session and Fernando Alonso finishing a lowly 8th in the second. We'll have to wait until tomorrow's qualifying to see how much Ferrari have really closed the gap, but the signs are promising for a Ferrari recovery, which is certainly good news for the neutral fan in terms of the championships. McLaren had been threatening to run away with both titles this year, but it seems that Ferrari are not willing to go down without a fight.
The other big news of today's session was a stunning showing from Toro Rosso in the second session, finishing 3rd and 5th behind the Ferraris and split by Hamilton's McLaren. Today also saw the return to action of BMW's Robert Kubica after his spectacular accident in Montreal three weeks ago. Sebastian Vettel was demoted back to his usual reserve driver role after his strong debut performance in Indianapolis, but his time will surely come.
Practice One
01 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:15.382 22 laps
02 F. Massa Ferrari 1:15.447 22 laps
03 F. Alonso McLaren 1:16.154 19 laps
04 N. Rosberg Williams 1:16.214 24 laps
05 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:16.268 24 laps
06 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:16.277 20 laps
07 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:16.338 25 laps
08 A. Wurz Williams 1:16.407 23 laps
09 R. Kubica BMW 1:16.441 19 laps
10 J. Trulli Toyota 1:16.603 26 laps
11 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:16.895 32 laps
12 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:16.967 22 laps
13 R. Barrichello Honda 1:16.990 25 laps
14 J. Button Honda 1:17.047 24 laps
15 S. Speed Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:17.103 33 laps
16 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:17.166 26 laps
17 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:17.168 26 laps
18 G. Fisichella Renault 1:17.226 20 laps
19 H. Kovalainen Renault 1:17.348 21 laps
20 M. Webber Red Bull 1:17.435 26 laps
21 C. Albers Spyker F1 1:18.178 28 laps
22 A. Sutil Spyker F1 1:18.419 15 laps
Practice Two
01 F. Massa Ferrari 1:15.453 38 laps
02 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:15.488 28 laps
03 S. Speed Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:15.773 21 laps
04 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:15.780 36 laps
05 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:15.952 40 laps
06 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:15.958 36 laps
07 N. Rosberg Williams 1:16.003 39 laps
08 F. Alonso McLaren 1:16.049 32 laps
09 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:16.162 25 laps
10 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:16.184 41 laps
11 G. Fisichella Renault 1:16.205 43 laps
12 R. Kubica BMW 1:16.236 42 laps
13 A. Wurz Williams 1:16.260 38 laps
14 J. Trulli Toyota 1:16.285 46 laps
15 J. Button Honda 1:16.395 43 laps
16 M. Webber Red Bull 1:16.562 17 laps
17 H. Kovalainen Renault 1:16.735 40 laps
18 R. Barrichello Honda 1:16.950 47 laps
19 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:16.968 18 laps
20 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:17.165 49 laps
21 A. Sutil Spyker F1 1:18.213 32 laps
22 C. Albers Spyker F1 1:18.708 9 laps