Mark Webber set the fastest time in an inconclusive first practice session on Friday morning at Silverstone, lapping his Red Bull in 1m 46.603s. The Australian rolled to a halt at the end of the session, however, with an undisclosed problem.
The 90 minutes were characterised by changeable weather, as the session began on a wet track which became worse as it rained intermittently before a late improvement.
Michael Schumacher was second fastest for Mercedes, 0.660s adrift of Webber, with Rubens Barrichello pushing up to third after a late run for Williams reaped 1m 47.347s. Sergio Perez likewise improved late to 1m 47.422s, which was a boost for Sauber after the tricky conditions had earlier caught out team mate Kamui Kobayashi who crashed his C30 heavily on the exit to Club.
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Formula 1: Mark Webber Fastest in First Practice at Silverstone
Felipe Massa was another late improver, to 1m 47.562s for Ferrari, with Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg completing the runners below 1m 48s with 1m 47.758s. Formula 1
With 15 minutes to go, Kamui Kobayashi got a little too brave and had a big accident on the pit straight while running on intermediates. He slewed wide coming out of the new final corner at Club and tried to keep his foot on the throttle while running on the Astroturf. His car pitched into a spin and took off on the raised grass before clobbering the wall, with the Japanese driver lucky he didn’t flip. It will now be a big ask for the Sauber team to get the car back in one piece for the start of second practice.
For what it’s worth, championship leader Sebastian Vettel was 13th fastest ahead of his closest rival in the title race Jenson Button in 15th. Hamilton was eighth fastest but looked capable of more towards the end of the session when he was back out on intermediates. Felipe Massa led team-mate Fernando Alonso in first practice, with the two Ferraris lining up fifth and seventh. ESPN F1
Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired 1 2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 01:46.6 2 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 01:47.3 3 11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 01:47.3 4 17 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 01:47.4 5 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 01:47.6 6 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 01:47.8 7 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 01:48.2 8 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 01:48.5 9 14 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 01:48.6 10 19 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 01:48.7 11 15 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 01:48.7 12 18 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 01:48.8 13 1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 01:48.8 14 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 01:48.8 15 4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 01:48.8 16 9 Nick Heidfeld Renault 01:48.9 17 10 Vitaly Petrov Renault 01:49.6 18 16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 01:50.1 19 21 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 01:50.2 20 20 Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault 01:51.1 21 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 01:52.5 22 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 01:53.1 23 25 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 01:53.5 24 22 Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 01:54.3
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