Practice 3 Report - Michael carves up rivals in Turkey

Michael Schumacher topped the bill in dramatic fashion in Istanbul on Saturday morning with a lap time that was seven-tenths faster than the two Renaults. The BMW Saubers were in the running again with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld fourth and fifth, ahead of Jenson Button's Honda. We have seen BMW do such things in practice before but the team has rarely figured strongly in the races. Felipe Massa was a second down on Michael Schumacher and splitting the two Hondas while McLaren was obviously not trying too hard as Kimi Raikkonen ended the session ninth and Pedro de la Rosa was 13th. In qualifying they can be expected to be considerably stronger, depending on the fuel loads they decide to run in the race. Christian Klien was 10th fastest but had one lurid spin, while a number of other drivers had offtrack moments of one form or another. With the Turkish track design drivers can make mistakes and not hit the walls and it is hoped that this will lead to more overtaking on Sunday as errors are not punished as much as they are at some other tracks. After the exciting race in Hungary, Formula 1 is hoping for a good race in Istanbul to build up the TV viewing figures as the World Championship moves into its decisive phase.