Chandhok, Narain make history

Karun Chandhok, the Team Lotus reserve, was given time in the car instead of Finland's Heikki Kovalainen while HRT's regular racer Narain Karthikeyan was also out on track at the slower end of the pitlane in the first session.

Chandhok, who made his race debut with HRT last year before Karthikeyan made his comeback this season, had taken part only briefly in the first practice in Australia in March when he was first out of the pitlane and promptly crashed.

Karthikeyan did not take part in that practice session due to problems with his car.
McLaren's Jenson Button set the pace while Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel crashed in the morning and missed the entire second session.  Vettel, the championship leader after winning two of the first three races, gave his Red Bull mechanics plenty of extra work after spinning into the barriers at the rain-soaked Istanbul Park circuit. 

The 23-year-old German, who has been on pole position for the past four races, spun at the exit of the challenging triple apex turn eight.

The session was red flagged with 27 minutes remaining, with marshals clearing mud off the track while the battered Red Bull was hoisted onto a flatbed truck and brought back to the pitlane.  “There was some water on the exit. There was nothing I could do,” Vettel said over the team radio.