European Grand Prix: Saturday Practice Session

Robert Kubica set the pace in the final practice session before Saturday afternoon's qualifying session for the European Grand Prix. It was a session in which the drivers from the big two teams were keeping their powder dry for the most part; Felipe Massa was the quickest of the four in fifth place, with team mate Raikkonen as far down as fifteenth.

Williams showed some good pace in this session with Rosberg and Nakajima second and fourth respectively. It was also another good session for the Toro Rosso team, and this time it was Sebastein Bourdais who led the way up in third place. After a very inconsistent debut season thus far Bourdais seems to be really enjoying himself here in Valencia. The track character is quite similar to some of the American street circuits he will have been familiar with from his days as Champ Car champion, and it really seems to suit his driving style.

Lewis Hamilton was a respectable seventh place, but he doesn't look entirely happy on here yet. At one point in the session he went fastest of all on his first lap on the soft compound tyres, and then almost immediately spun off the track. He appears to have good pace when he manages to hold it together, but will need to up his consistency if he wants to score well here and cement his lead in the driver's championship. Title rival Kimi Raikkonen had a very quiet session this morning way down in 15th, but he showed he had good pace over one lap by being fastest of all yesterday, so will not be unduly worried by his position today.

Saturday Practice Times

1. R Kubica BMW-Sauber 1:38.754
2. N Rosberg Williams 1:38.877
3. S Bourdais Toro Rosso 1:39.009
4. K Nakajima Williams 1:39.270
5. F Massa Ferrari 1:39.276
6. S Vettel Toro Rosso 1:39.300
7. L Hamilton McLaren 1:39.314
8. N Heidfeld BMW-Sauber 1:39.335
9. Coulthard Red Bull 1:39.421
10. N Piquet Renault 1:39.452
11. M Webber Red Bull 1:39.597
12. J Button Honda 1:39.628
13. F Alonso Renault 1:39.652
14. H Kovalainen McLaren 1:39.802
15. K Raikkonen Ferrari 1:39.802
16. T Glock Toyota 1:39.919
17. A Sutil Force India 1:40.019
18. G Fisichella Force India 1:40.059
19. R Barrichello Honda 1:40.512
20. J Trulli Toyota no time