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McLaren has sent Australian Formula One championship leader Mark Webber a warning by topping both Friday practice sessions at the Turkish grand prix.
Defending world champion Jenson Button clocked the fastest lap time of the day with a one minute, 28.280 second effort in the second practice session.
But Webber clocked a time just under one-tenth behind Button’s pace before calling it a day in the second session when his Red Bull began billowing smoke.
Button’s McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton, fastest in the day’s first practice session, clocked the fourth fastest time in the afternoon behind Webber’s Red Bull stablemate Sebastian Vettel.
Webber shares 78 points with teammate Vettel but leads the overall standings on race wins after winning back-to-back GPs coming into Istanbul.
Hamilton came in ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso with Mercedes pair Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher next fastest at the Istanbul Park circuit.
Robert Kubica was 0.945 back in eighth ahead of Renault teammate Vitaly Petrov, while Ferrari driver Felipe Massa – a three-time winner at the “Otodrom” – was 10th.
Alonso has 75 points after six races, Button – who won in Istanbul last year – has 70, and Massa is next with 61. Hamilton and Kubica share 59 points.
McLaren’s belief it can challenge Red Bull on a circuit suited to its car showed to the few fans who came to the track, where temperatures reached 51 degrees Celsius.
The high temperatures caused significant tire degradation as Karun Chandhok avoided a crash after skidding across the tarmac in the afternoon stint.
Force India driver Adrian Sutil did crash at the end of the 90-minute morning practice, plowing into the wall at the high speed turn eight but emerged from his car unhurt.
Sakon Yamamoto replaced Bruno Senna in the morning, with the Japanese test driver lapping a slowest time of 1:36.137 for HRT, one of three rookie teams that has yet to score a point. Sauber is the only established team without a point after six races.
Practice wraps on Saturday before qualifying for Sunday’s 58-lap race.
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