Raikkonen goes fastest in Bahrain

Page last updated at 18:43 GMT, Friday, 13 February 2009

Raikkonen was among the drivers frustrated by a sandstorm in Bahrain Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest lap of the week in pre-season testing at Sakhir in Bahrain. The Finn clocked one minute, 33.325 seconds with Toyota's Jarno Trulli 0.104 secs behind, BMW Sauber's Christian Klien posted 1:33.666. Practice had been disrupted for two days by a sandstorm that grounded the medical helicopter. At Jerez in Spain on Friday, British world champion Lewis Hamilton went fastest with a lap of 1:19.632. Hamilton was fastest for a second straight session while former team-mate Fernando Alonso of Renault was next, followed by Nico Rosberg of Williams and Red Bull's Mark Webber. Toro Rosso's French driver Sebastien Bourdais clocked the best time for the second day running - in a time of 1:17.472 - but in a 2008 car while the other teams were using vehicles that had been reconfigured to conform with the new rules for the 2009 season. Alonso had finished slowest on Thursday but after a number changes the Spaniard said he was pleased with the way his car is starting to drive. "We concentrated more on set-up work today to get a better understanding of the car and make it easier to drive," he said. "The car responded well to the set-up changes we made, so I think we've found some good solutions." Webber drove for the second time since he suffered a broken leg while riding a bike at his own charity event in November last year. The 32-year-old Australian managed 92 laps despite an early mechanical problem.