Kovalainen Fastest In Turkish Grand Prix Practice – World Ends

Heikki “the hack” Kovalainen has posted the fastest time the second practice session of the Turkish Grand Prix. This is, of course, a sign the world is about to end.

Formula One teams and drivers are often quoted saying the practice sessions on the first day of each grand prix weekend are not relevant to predicting the outcome of the race. This has always been true and one needs look no further than the fact Nico Rosberg of Williams usually tops the charts only to disappear during the races. Indeed, he was at the top of the charts for the first practice session in Turkey, but it is the second one that interests everyone.

McLaren Mercedes has lagged in the Constructor’s Championship despite winning the Driver’s Championship. The reason? The second driver on the team is horrifically bad. Yes, I am talking about Heikki Kovalainen. He was horrific at Renault and then somehow weaseled a ride at McLaren when the team was looking for a bland second driver after the Fernando Alonso disaster. Well, they certainly got one!

The second practice session saw Heikki come rolling to the top of the charts. He finished with a top time of 1.28.841, a whopping six hundredths of a second faster than Lewis Hamilton. The world must be coming to an end!

Actually, the times tell us two distinct things. The first is McLaren was running light. This is proven out by the fact they were running around in their usual “teens” positions in the other practice session. We can expect McLaren to make some progress with the car, but not to the top of the charts.

The second thing we’ve learned is more worrisome. Lewis Hamilton finishing behind Heikki? Oh, no. The skill level and performance level is very distinct. Hamilton is a World Champion and very aggressive. Heikki can barely get through the first corner of a race and will be driving cabs in another year or two. Regardless, a disinterested Lewis Hamilton is an indicator that McLaren is not making any headway with the car. That’s not good news.

So, is Heikki going to shock us in this race and take it? Not bloody likely. The truth of the matter is practice is practice and only that. There is a 50/50 chance Heikki will crash on the first lap, but there is some hope he might actually finish and squeeze into a top 10 position. Okay, that’s probably optimistic!