Kovalainen on first practice pace

Heikki Kovalainen underlined McLaren’s return to form by setting the pace in first practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Now armed with the same aerodynamic upgrade that team-mate Lewis Hamilton used to good effect at the Nurburgring, Kovalainen vaulted to the top of the timing charts as the chequered flag flew on the 90-minute session.

Hamilton had briefly been fastest himself but was shuffled back to third by Kovalainen and Nico Rosberg in the Williams in the closing minutes after making a mistake on his final flying lap.

Mark Webber was the quickest of the championship contenders in fourth, but Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel wound up an unhappy 15th, complaining of spiralling tyre temperatures and a lack of grip.

Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) and Jarno Trulli (Toyota) completed the top six.

Full report to follow…


Hungarian Grand Prix free practice session one times


1. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m22.278s
2. ROSBERG Williams 1m22.337s
3. HAMILTON McLaren 1m22.554s
4. WEBBER Red Bull 1m22.615s
5. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m22.619s
6. TRULLI Toyota 1m22.705s
7. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m22.796s
8. MASSA Ferrari 1m22.855s
9. ALONSO Renault 1m23.001s
10. BUTTON Brawn 1m23.130s
11. KUBICA BMW 1m23.146s
12. HEIDFELD BMW 1m23.154s
13. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m23.209s
14. GLOCK Toyota 1m23.234s
15. VETTEL Red Bull 1m23.283s
16. FISICHELLA Force India 1m23.484s
17. PIQUET Renault 1m23.678s
18. SUTIL Force India 1m23.845s
19. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m23.998s
20. ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 1m24.228s