Raikkonen fastest in Hungary practice

BUDAPEST, Aug 4 (Reuters) McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, increasingly linked to a move to glamour team Ferrari next season, lapped fastest in free practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix today.

The Finn, last year's runaway winner at the Hungaroring and third in Germany last weekend, set a time of one minute 21.624 seconds in damp and grey conditions.

However he was only 25th quickest of the 27 drivers in the afternoon as title contenders Ferrari and Formula One champions Renault led the way.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa, the young Brazilian whose seat is at risk if Raikkonen arrives and Michael Schumacher stays, topped the timesheets in the second session with a lap of 1:21.778.

That was 1.319 seconds quicker than Renault's world champion Fernando Alonso, who was second fastest.

Seven-times world champion Schumacher was only eighth, after recording the third best time in the morning, on a day of little incident.

The German has won the last three races and is 11 points behind Alonso with six rounds remaining including Sunday.

Spaniard Alonso had not set a time in the morning, preferring as usual to save his car's engine, but came out strongly in the afternoon. Italian team mate Giancarlo Fisichella was third fastest in that session.

Poland's Robert Kubica, usually to be seen pounding round the racetrack in Friday practice as part of his BMW Sauber third driver duties, also stayed off the track in the morning but ended the day 10th quickest.

Kubica is replacing Canada's 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who told the team on Tuesday that he had not recovered from a big crash in last weekend's German Grand Prix.

The Canadian's absence has called his Formula One future into question.

The fledgling Super Aguri team, who introduced their new car at Hockenheim last weekend, could take heart in Takuma Sato lapping 17th fastest.

REUTERS DH BST1924