» Kobayashi: Sauber lacks balance and pace

Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi suffered a bit of a fright in the second practice session for the Turkish Grand Prix, with a couple of off-track moments at Istanbul Park’s notorious Turn 8, including a lurid spin in the closing minutes of the session (pictured).

It is the Japanese driver’s first visit to the circuit in an F1 car, and the former Toyota driver was pragmatic at the end of his opening day’s running.

"To me, the balance of the car felt fine but we do have two areas to look at – we have a lack of grip and we are too slow on the straights," he said.

"If you work on one issue you tend to increase the other one but we will find a good compromise. I enjoyed driving a lot and, as we had no trouble with the car, it was a productive day for us."

Team-mate Pedro de la Rosa – who is desperate for a race finish at Turkey, having failed to see the chequered flag since Australia – added: "In the afternoon we had a very good test with comparing the race tyres. We did a lot of race preparation today, which went very well. The long runs were good and pretty consistent. What we still need to work on is to find the right balance with new tyres."

[Original image via Formula1.com]