Strong start to the weekend for McLaren

Team McLaren Mercedes drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Pedro de la Rosa finished today's second free practice session in eighth and ninth positions respectively. Kimi set a fastest lap time of 1:29.042 whilst Pedro did 1:29.112. Both drivers completed ten laps each in the afternoon and five laps in the morning. In the first session Kimi was fastest with 1:28.315 and Pedro was sixth on 1:29.376. Kimi's lap time in the morning was the third fastest time of the day.

Kimi Raikkonen "A strong start to the weekend. We were evaluating our Michelin tyres and got some good data. I really like this track and am looking forward to the rest of the weekend. The car feels good, and we could have gone a lot quicker, which is always a good feeling to have after a Friday's work."

Pedro de la Rosa "Both sessions were good for us for us and Kimi and I ran a parallel Michelin tyre evaluation programme. We are now absolutely sure which compound we will choose. I really enjoyed today's practice on this track with its flowing and fast layout. It is really fun to drive, except turn eight which is rather bumpy."

Ron Dennis "A productive practice day where we experienced no problems."

Norbert Haug "Kimi and Pedro went through their planned Michelin tyre evaluation programme and didn't put new ones on in the afternoon. The times looked OK. Both drivers are using fresh engines incorporating some improvements."