MAGNY-COURS (France), June 29: Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton suffered a rare setback on Friday when his McLaren stopped on the track in first free practice for the French Grand Prix.

The problem was quickly fixed, however, and the 22-year-old rookie returned to complete 20 laps and end the Ferrari-dominated session at an overcast Magny-Cours with the sixth fastest time.

Hamilton, 10 points clear of double world champion and team mate Fernando Alonso after seven races, is chasing a hat-trick of wins on Sunday after his victories in Canada and the US.

The Briton, whose team boast 100 percent reliability in races so far, is also hoping for an eighth podium appearance in a row.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, off the podium in his last four appearances, led the session with a lap of one minute, 15.382 seconds with Felipe Massa second on the timesheets, 0.065 slower.

Alonso was third quickest, 0.772 off Raikkonen's pace, with Nico Rosberg fourth in a Williams. David Coulthard, the last McLaren driver to win at Magny-Cours in 2000, was fifth on the timesheets for Renault-powered Red Bull.—Reuters