Jun 30, 2007
Reuters

MAGNY-COURS, France (Reuters) - Ferrari dominated French Grand Prix free practice on Friday with Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen reviving the Italian team's hopes of ending McLaren's winning streak.

Finland's Raikkonen, off the podium in his last four races, beat Massa in the first session, while the Brazilian led a Ferrari one-two at the top of the timesheets in the second on an overcast afternoon at Magny-Cours.

Raikkonen's morning time of one minute 15.382 seconds was quicker than Michael Schumacher's 2006 pole position for Ferrari of 1:15.493.

"I think Ferrari are stronger, no doubt," said McLaren's double world champion Fernando Alonso, whose team have won the last three races.

"On Friday we want to believe that they run with a different strategy in terms of fuel, so tomorrow we will see. But they definitely improved their car a lot so it will be very difficult to beat them."

Ferrari-powered cars filled four of the top five slots in the afternoon, with Toro Rosso's American Scott Speed a surprising third-quickest and Italian team mate Vitantonio Liuzzi fifth.

Both Toro Rosso drivers recognised, however, that they had been on low fuel.

"Maybe the quick times look nicer than they are in reality," said Liuzzi.

RARE FAILURE

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton suffered a rare mechanical setback in the morning when his McLaren's engine protection system clicked in and forced him to park by the side of the track.

But the 22-year-old rookie, chasing a hat-trick of wins on Sunday after his victories in Canada and the United States, was still fourth-fastest in the afternoon.

The Briton, whose team boast 100 percent reliability in races so far, is also hoping for an eighth podium appearance in a row.

Alonso, 10 points adrift of team mate Hamilton after seven races, went off into the gravel three times in the second session and ended up eighth-quickest with a time half a second slower than Massa.

"It's only Friday," said the Spaniard. "We knew more or less regarding our strategy and our fuel that we would probably not be in the top three or top four. So eighth position is more or less as I expected."

Britain's David Coulthard, the last McLaren driver to win at Magny-Cours in 2000, was fifth on the timesheets for Renault-powered Red Bull in the morning and sixth in the afternoon.

Ferrari are 35 points behind McLaren in the constructors' championship and have not won a race since Massa led from pole position in Spain on May 13.

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