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Mark Webber got his Spanish Grand Prix weekend off to a solid start with the fastest time in first practice ahead of Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
Webber, who won at the Circuit de Catalunya last year, clocked the fastest time midway through the session and finished over a second faster than Vettel, who completed less laps and had a minor sensor problem on his car early in the session. However, the times are not the best indicator of what to expect later this weekend as drivers up and down the pit lane focused on assessing new upgrades and the Pirelli’s new hard tyres.
Nico Rosberg was third fastest in the Mercedes, 1.237 seconds off Webber, and just ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari, which Rosberg will be targeting over the weekend.
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F1 Standings Ahead of Spanish Grand Prix
Formula 1: Spanish Grand Prix - First Practice Results
One driver who coped with the slippery conditions better than most was Sergio Perez, who set the fifth fastest time in the heavily-revised Sauber. But despite the high ranking the Mexican was still 1.8 seconds off Webber, which is fairly consistent with the gap between the two at recent races. ESPN F1
The McLaren garage was the scene of much activity as the team tested upgrades to their MP4-26 chassis. As many as 12 new components could be added to Hamilton and Button’s cars this weekend.
Seven-times champion Michael Schumacher and Nick Heidfeld sandwiched the Britons in their Mercedes and Renault respectively, with Williams’ Rubens Barrichello completing the top 10, albeit two seconds off the pace.
Force India reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg replaced Paul di Resta for the 90-minute session and he outpaced team-mate Adrian Sutil as they respectively went 14th and 15th quickest.
However, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa found himself trailing down in 16th, finishing 3.5secs slower than Webber. SkySports
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