Vettel: I am surprised to be fastest!

He has never been to the Istanbul Park circuit and he has only driven the BMW Sauber once before, but Sebastian Vettel showed what a potential talent he is after stunning onlookers with the fastest time in practice for the Turkish Grand Prix.

Filling BMW's third driver role for the weekend, team director Mario Theissen had admitted prior to the weekend that Vettel would find it tough in such difficult circumstances but far from struggle, the 19-year-old has marked himself out as a future star, setting the fastest time of the day.

Nonetheless, Vettel admits he was surprised to see his name at the top of the timesheets considering his drawbacks, but was nonetheless delighted with the result, particularly on such a demanding circuit.

"I am surprised at this result," Vettel beamed. "It has been difficult for me as I didn't know the circuit and have had only one proper Formula 1 test. However, I felt very comfortable, I was able to deliver some information and on top of it all it was great! What happens in the fast corners is just indescribable. My second session was a lot quicker.

However, while Vettel was celebrating, his wallet took something of a battering when he forgot to press the speed limiter entering the pits, meaning he is likely to incur a hefty fine. Furthermore, he has been randomly selected for a drugs test, introduced this weekend in response to fears from drivers of potential doping.

"On top of that I learnt two Formula 1 lessons on my first day. In the first session I forgot to press the pit lane speed limiter, which is going to be expensive, and after the second session the system chose me for a drug test."

Mario Theissen was also thrilled to see another one of his prot?g?s come out on top on their debut, just as Robert Kubica did on his first outing with the team at the first round in Bahrain.

"It was a good first practice day for our team with a flawless performance from Sebastian Vettel, who
is only 19 years old and had his first Formula One drive on a GP weekend," he said. "He completed his entire programme with no mistakes and laid a good basis for the set-up work for the cars. Setting the
fastest lap today was not on the agenda, but it is the icing on the cake."

Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica meanwhile, endured a modest day, getting through their program with ease, but posting times well below what is expected, coming in 27th and 17th respectively.

"I didn't do a lot of driving, as I only did five timed laps," admitted Kubica. "This has given us some idea about the best set-up, which we have to improve on, and me some idea about this track. We will have to see how we go tomorrow, as we still have the third free practice to work on the car before qualifying. The track is new to me and I like it, but would have liked to do a few more laps."