MANAMA, April 4: McLaren’s Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton crashed out of Bahrain Grand Prix free practice on Friday while Ferrari’s Felipe Massa set the pace.

Hamilton lost control of the car on the exit to turn seven in the middle sector of the slippery desert circuit and, with no grip, careered broadside into the tyre barriers with nine minutes of the second session remaining.

The 23-year-old Briton, who leads Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen by three points in the standings after two races, stepped out of the heavily damaged car unscathed.

Hamilton still set the fourth best time of the afternoon at Sakhir, behind third-placed Finnish team-mate Heikki Kovalainen and the two Ferrari drivers who repeated their morning one-two.

Massa could be content with his day’s work after lapping fastest in both sessions.

Winner from pole position in Bahrain last year, but still without a point after retiring in Australia and Malaysia, he lapped in one minute 32.233 seconds in the morning and 1:31.420 in the second stint.

The Brazilian’s final effort of the day was a hefty 0.907 seconds quicker than world champion Raikkonen’s best afternoon lap and more than a second faster than his own 2007 pole position time.

Germany’s Nico Rosberg posted the third best time for Williams in the morning and sixth after lunch with Poland’s Robert Kubica fifth for BMW Sauber.

Renault’s Fernando Alonso, a winner at Sakhir in 2005 and 2006, collided with Force India’s Adrian Sutil in the day’s closing seconds.

Free practice times:

Second session: 1. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1 min 31.420 secs; 2. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1:32.327; 3. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) McLaren 1:32.752; 4. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 1:32.847; 5. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 1:32.915; 6. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams–Toyota 1:33.022; 7. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull–Renault 1:33.048; 8. Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams–Toyota 1:33.098; 9. Sebastien Bourdais (France) Toro Rosso–Ferrari 1:33.197; 10. Nelsinho Piquet (Brazil) Renault 1:33.247; 11. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 1:33.710; 12. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 1:33.755; 13. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull–Renault 1:33.782; 14. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 1:33.822; 15. Timo Glock (Germany) Toyota 1:33.856; 16. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 1:33.966; 17. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 1:34.023; 18. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Force India–Ferrari 1:34.388; 19. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India–Ferrari 1:34.405; 20. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso–Ferrari 1:34.787; 21. Takuma Sato (Japan) Super Aguri–Honda 1:35.288; 22. Anthony Davidson (Britain) Super Aguri–Honda 1:35.712.

First session: 1. Massa 1.32.233; 2. Raikkonen 1:32.350; 3. Rosberg 1:32.415; 4. Hamilton 1:32.705; 5. Kovalainen 1:32.868; 6. Nakajima 1:33.121; 7. Kubica 1:33.333; 8. Trulli 1:33.539; 9. Coulthard 1:33.788; 10. Alonso 1:33.815; 11. Glock 1:33.929; 12. Webber 1:33.950; 13. Piquet 1:33.981; 14. Heidfeld 1:34.106; 15. Bourdais 1:34.235; 16. Vettel 1:34.321; 17. Fisichella 1:34.892; 18. Button 1:34.915; 19. Barrichello 1:35.174; 20. Sutil 1:35.429; 21. Davidson 1:36.145; 22. Sato 1:36.536.—Reuters