France F1 GP 2008 - Testing : Massa makes Ferrari fly

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa set the pace in free practice for the French Grand Prix on Friday with a time inside the circuit’s race lap record.

The Brazilian, who started on pole position at Magny-Cours last year but has yet to win in France, lapped fastest in the morning with a time of one minute 15.306 seconds.

Renault’s double world champion Fernando Alonso, preparing for the car company’s home race on Sunday, topped the timesheets in the afternoon with a lap of 1:15.778. Massa was second, a mere 0.076 slower.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who will be penalised 10 places on the starting grid after a pit lane collision with world champion Kimi Raikkonen’s stationary Ferrari in Canada, was second and fourth in the two sessions.

Massa’s best time compared to his 2007 pole of 1:15.034 and retired Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher’s 2004 race lap record of 1:15.377.

BMW Sauber’s championship leader Robert Kubica, winner in Canada, was fifth quickest in the morning and sixth after lunch. The Pole leads Hamilton and Massa, who have both won twice this season, by four points with world champion Raikkonen a further three adrift after seven rounds of the 18-race championship.

However, Kubica could struggle to match the pace of the Ferraris this weekend. The Italian team have won for the past two seasons at Magny-Cours and seven times in the last 11 years. Raikkonen led Massa in a one-two finish in 2007. Alonso, who has scored just nine points this season with Renault struggling to match the pace of the top three teams, had pulled over with two minutes remaining of the morning session with smoke billowing from the engine. The Spaniard was still sixth fastest however.