The first of Massa's six race victories in his Formula One career was at the Istanbul Park circuit two years ago, with the Brazilian repeating the feat last August.

And Ferrari star Massa led the way again during practice, posting a best lap time of one minute 27.323 seconds - just six-thousandths of a second quicker than his pole position lap of nine months ago.

Massa's enjoyment of the 90-minute period was in stark contrast to team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who propped up the now 20-car field - with Super Aguri folding this week - after suffering a gearbox problem.

The Finn, currently leading the drivers' standings by nine points from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, completed just three laps and was almost 3.5secs down on Massa.

However, it was later confirmed the gearbox would not need to be changed, and that it would be repaired in time for the afternoon session.

The morning run on a dirty track and overcast conditions was at least a productive one for Heikki Kovalainen, returning to action following his 150mph smash in the Spanish Grand Prix 12 days ago.

The Finn was ultimately second fastest, just 0.133secs adrift of Massa, and almost 0.3secs ahead of team-mate Hamilton, who was third overall and one of several spinners due to the dusty surface.

Renault's Fernando Alonso was the only other driver within a second of Massa, with Jenson Button fifth fastest but nearly 1.6secs down.



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