Webber leads the way

Red Bull's Mark Webber set the pace in the first practice session at a wet Silverstone.

Australia sets fastest time before running out of fuel

Red Bull's Mark Webber set the pace in the first practice session for the British GP at a wet Silverstone circuit. Although it was not all plain sailing for the Australian as he then ran out of fuel and coasted to a halt on the old pits at Woodcote. With the introduction of a new ban on off-throttle blown diffusers, many expected the Red Bull drivers to suffer the most. However Webber silenced the doubters as he crossed the line with a 1:46.603 to set the fastest time in P1 ahead of Michael Schumacher. Rubens Barrichello was third in the timings, with Sauber's Sergio Perez.

Crash

The news was not as good for Perez's Sauber team-mate Kamui Kobayashi crashed heavily on the pit straight, causing significant damage to his C30. And despite a few scares in the wet, the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash. Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso were in fifth and seventh - sandwiching Nico Rosberg. McLaren duo Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button were well down the field, in eight and 15th respectively. Hamilton, though, put on some slick tyres to tiptoe around the track as his team did aero testing. Defeding world champion Sebastian Vettel was more than two seconds slower than Red Bull team-mate Webber, finishing in 13th. Times
1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m46.603 19 laps
2. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m47.263 + 0.660 20 laps
3. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m47.347 + 0.744 23 laps
4. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m47.422 + 0.819 22 laps
5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m47.562 + 0.959 13 laps
06. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m47.758 + 1.155 23 laps
7. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m48.161 + 1.558 16 laps
8. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m48.549 + 1.946 21 laps
9. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m48.598 + 1.995 19 laps
10. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m48.678 + 2.075 22 laps
11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m48.730 + 2.127 18 laps
12. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m48.778 + 2.175 18 laps
13. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m48.794 + 2.191 21 laps
14. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m48.809 + 2.206 17 laps
15. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m48.841 + 2.238 23 laps
16. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m48.941 + 2.338 20 laps
17. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m49.603 + 3.000 15 laps
18. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m50.133 + 3.530 17 laps
19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m50.222 + 3.619 14 laps
20. Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault 1m51.119 + 4.516 17 laps
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m52.470 + 5.867 17 laps
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m53.143 + 6.540 20 laps
23. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m53.469 + 6.866 26 laps
24. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m54.334 + 7.731 24 laps