Oliver WhiteBelieve it or not, there is actually a race happening this weekend, the host being Silverstone in the UK and currently being billed as the final Formula One race the Northamptonshire circuit will hold. And moments ago the first practice drew to a close with the Red Bull pilots looking comfortable at the top of the timing sheets. Brawn are just behind, although some 0.8s shy of the pace and Force India found themselves in P10 and P11.
With a cool track temperature this morning, drivers struggled to get heat into their tyres, some taking as many as five laps before feeling comfortable on the rubber. This lead to a number of incidents of drivers spinning and/or almost losing the car under braking. Nelson Piquet Jr predictably spun in his Renault and Jarno Trulli visited the scenery at Becketts at the end of the session. Team mate Timo Glock found himself pointing the wrong way at Club as well, but like Piquet, he was also able to keep going.
Mark Webber lead for much of the session but a late charge from Sebastian Vettel moved him up the timing sheet. Also doing well were Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil, who found themselves in P10 and P11 respectively.
Doing less well than usual for a free practice session were the Williams duo of Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima. All season the pair have impressed on Friday, but at Silverstone Rosberg could only manage P9 while Nakajima struggled down in P17.
Silverstone 2009
|
Lap Time
|
Laps Set
|
1. |  Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing |
1m19.400s | 20 Laps |
| 2. |  Mark Webber Red Bull Racing |
1m19.682s | 19 Laps |
| 3. |  Jenson Button Brawn |
1m20.227s | 20 Laps |
| 4. |  Rubens Barrichello Brawn |
1m20.242s | 29 Laps |
| 5. |  Fernando Alonso Renault |
1m20.458s | 26 Laps |
| 6. | Felipe Massa Ferrari |
1m20.471s | 23 Laps |
| 7. |  Jarno Trulli Toyota |
1m20.585 | 32 Laps |
| 8. | Lewis Hamilton McLaren |
1m20.650s | 26 Laps |
| 9. | Nico Rosberg Williams |
1m20.815s | 32 Laps |
| 10. | Giancarlo Fisichella Force India |
1m20.838s | 25 Laps |
| 11. | Adrian Sutil Force India |
1m20.913s | 22 Laps |
| 12. |  Heikki Kovalainen McLaren |
1m21.029s | 22 Laps |
| 13. | Nick Heidfeld BMW |
1m21.103s | 24 Laps |
| 14. | Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari |
1m21.179s | 27 Laps |
| 15. |  Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso |
1m21.384s | 23 Laps |
| 16. | Timo Glock Toyota |
1m21.386s | 32 Laps |
| 17. |  Kazuki Nakajima Williams |
1m21.489s | 26 Laps |
| 18. | Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault |
1m21.525s | 30 Laps |
| 19. |  Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso |
1m21.590s | 37 Laps |
| 20. |  Robert Kubica BMW |
1m21.801s | 16 Laps |
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