On his first time back in a Formula 1 car since his horrific high-speed shunt in the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona two weeks ago, Heikki Kovalainen displayed no nerves or ill-effects whatsoever on the opening day's practice in Istanbul, lapping right up at the sharp end in both sessions.

The Finn – whose McLaren-Mercedes became so heavily embedded in the Circuit de Catalunya's crash barriers that even his head was no longer visible – set the second-quickest time in the morning session, behind only traditional Turkish pace-setter Felipe Massa. Though he subsequently slipped back to fifth spot in the afternoon, that was nevertheless enough to place him second overall on the end-of-day timesheets, just over a tenth shy of the ultimate pace.

“It was nice to get back in the car again and everything was fine,” the 26-year-old acknowledged afterwards. “I was on the pace immediately and was able to set some consistent lap times. At the end of the first session I went out on the option tyre but the brake temperature was not quite right, so I was not able to go flat-out on that run.

“The second session went smoothly too, and we focused on tyre evaluation with some long runs as well as looking at the set-up. A very productive and positive day.”

Lewis Hamilton ended up a further tenth of a second and two places adrift of his team-mate, and the young Briton – aiming to stop the post-Melbourne rot by putting a halt to Ferrari's steamroller charge this weekend – admitted neither the track nor climatic conditions had been 100 per cent ideal.

“We focused on tyre evaluation and set-up work today,” commented the man who currently sits in second position in the drivers' title chase, nine points behind defending champion Raikkonen, “and so far things are not looking too bad. Everybody lost a bit of running time in the first session as the track was still wet in places after cleaning. This circuit is constantly evolving, which is challenging but also enjoyable.

“In the first session I stayed on the same set of tyres throughout and experienced no problems. On my last run of the day I put on a new set of tyres, but had a small moment which cost me some time. Overall I am pleased with our initial pace and consistency.”

The Woking-based outfit's team principal Ron Dennis and Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Vice-President Norbert Haug were full of praise for Kovalainen's performance, and confident of taking the fight back to Ferrari over the remainder of the meeting.

“Two productive practice sessions,” summarised Dennis. “Both drivers managed to complete their programmes, and both were quick and consistent. A special mention to Heikki, who went out for the first time since his accident and was fast immediately. We seem to be competitive and look forward to the rest of the weekend.”

“A good first practice day,” concurred Haug. “Lewis' and Heikki's lap times looked reasonable, and we completed our planned programme including tyre evaluation. The best news is that Heikki is back in his car, and he drove and worked with the team as we all know from him.”