Free 1: McLaren at the forefront

The first free practice session for the Turkish Grand Prix begins under clear sunshine, with the temperature already high for the start of the morning: 25°C in the air, 35°C on the track. As the countdown begins, a few drivers appear on track for their installation lap, while Sakon Yamamoto takes part in his first test session at the wheel of Bruno Senna's HRT.

It is also the Japanese who sets the best time? after almost half an hour of session! Indeed, during these first minutes, the teams spent a lot of time adjusting their cars following the installation laps carried out by their drivers. Yamamoto therefore sets the best time, in 1:38:785.

Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) then takes over, in 1:33:402, before improving lap after lap. This is when most pilots go out to “slam” for a while. On the other hand, Karun Chandhok (HRT) had to return to his pit in slow motion, his car being stuck at 38 km/h for a few hundred meters, until the pit lane.

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) comes out and places himself at the top of the hierarchy, finishing his turn in 1:31??718. He improved in the following lap, in 1:30:840. Robert Kubica (Renault) succeeds him for a moment, in 1?30??471, before the McLaren do not show up at the forefront.

Lewis Hamilton went under 90 seconds, and finished his lap in 1, before being beaten by his compatriot and teammate, Jenson Button (29). Vitaly Petrov (Renault) put in a good performance with the third time (672:1:29), while Lewis Hamilton continued his good series. The Briton improved his best time by one second, to 623:1:30.

Jenson Button improves his best time, to 1:29:615, but is only one second behind his teammate, although he still ranks second. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), third, set a good time in 1:29:855, before being overtaken by Michael Schumacher (Mercedes, 1?29??750).

At the end of the session, few drivers improved their time and, three minutes from the end of the session, Adrian Sutil (Force India) “distinguished” himself by going wide at the exit of the left quadruple, and sent his car in the wall. The session therefore ends under yellow flag and Sutil returns to his stand on foot.

McLaren, which is returning to a fast circuit, has returned to the top of the timesheet. Confirmation is expected during the second session, from 13 p.m. However, the Woking team is seeing a lot of teams this weekend with an F-duct on their cars, from Red Bull to Ferrari, via Mercedes, Force India, Williams and Sauber. The competition could therefore be increased during the next test sessions.