Formula One: Massa keeps Ferrari on top in Turkish GP

Massa has won the last two races on the 5,338 kilometer circuit, which has quickly established itself as one of the trickiest on the Formula One calendar with plenty of opportunities for overtaking.  Â

The 27-year-old is hoping to complete a hat-trick of wins in Sunday's 58-lap race to stop Kimi Raikkonen increasing his 11-point advantage over him in the driver’s title race. And it was not early-season leader Raikkonen who led the pack chasing Massa in the opening practice, as the Finn completed just three laps in the 90-minute session. The defending world champion finished bottom of the time-sheets.

Heikki Kovalainen, rebounded from a violent crash in Spain to set the second fastest lap time, trailing only two-time defending champion Felipe Massa.

McLaren driver Kovalainen had a best lap time of one minute, 27,456 seconds to trail Massa at 1:27.323 ahead of Sunday’s 58-lap race at the Istanbul Speed Park circuit. It was the 26-year-old Finns first drive following his crash at the preceding Spanish GP.

A wheel failure caused a tire on Kovalainen's car to explode which sent him barreling into a wall at high speed. Though the crash left him hospitalized overnight with slight injuries, including a concussion, Kovalainen was cleared for Sunday's race after passing medical checks by governing body, FIA on Thursday.

Britain's Lewis Hamilton, nine points behind world champion Raikkonen in the standings after four races, was third fastest for McLaren.

Renault's double world champion Fernando Alonso was fourth in another sign that the French team were making up ground after failing to win a race last year, while Honda's Jenson Button clocked the fifth fastest time.

Kazuki Nakajima, now the only Japanese driver on the starting grid after the withdrawal of Takuma Sato's Super Aguri team for financial reasons, was sixth for Toyota-powered Williams.

Poland's Robert Kubica, third in the championship for BMW Sauber, completed only seven laps after struggling with a rear suspension problem that the team could not fix during the session.

Practice continues with a second session later Friday.

 Photo: AA