Adrian Sutil topped the timesheets infront of his home fans, as rain disrupted the opening practice session for the German Grand Prix.
The Force India driver revelled in the damp conditions and found himself over a second clear of the field, as the track dried out.
Felipe Massa, who had no less than five offs during the session, was second for Ferrari, with Jenson Button in third.
Rubens Barrichello, returning to the circuit where he scored his first ever win, was fourth, with Nico Rosberg fifth for Mercedes.
Although track conditions would improve throughout the 90-minute session, a number of drivers continued to make errors.
But this would not deter Sutil, who continued to lower the benchmark as the majority of the field switched from wets to intermediates.
Lewis Hamilton’s weekend did not get off the perfect start when, with twenty minutes remaining, he crashed at turn 3. Although the McLaren driver had through tirelessly to correct his error, he was unable to prevent his MP4-25 bouncing across the gravel and colliding with the barrier – causing significant damage to its gearbox.
As a disconsolate Hamilton walked back to the pits, minutes later the Hispania of Bruno Senna found itself beached in the gravel. The Brazilian driver appeared to lose control of his car on the final turn of the lap, and spun as it touched the kerb.
The session was full of surprises with Vitaly Petrov faster than his Renault team-mate, Robert Kubica, and Timo Glock managing to set the twelfth fastest lap for Virgin.
Additionally, a number of the sport’s front-running drivers found themselves languishing down the order – with the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber eleventh and fourteenth; Fernando Alonso in nineteenth and Michael Schumacher twenty-second after experiencing a late issue with his rear wing.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:25.701 20 2. Massa Ferrari 1:26.850 + 1.149 27 3. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.936 + 1.235 16 4. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:26.947 + 1.246 21 5. Petrov Renault 1:26.948 + 1.247 21 6. Rosberg Mercedes 1:27.448 + 1.747 20 7. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:28.114 + 2.413 31 8. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:28.193 + 2.492 24 9. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:28.300 + 2.599 19 10. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:28.486 + 2.785 23 11. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:28.735 + 3.034 21 12. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:28.735 + 3.034 21 13. Kubica Renault 1:28.903 + 3.202 20 14. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:29.048 + 3.347 13 15. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:29.280 + 3.579 17 16. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:29.366 + 3.665 34 17. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:29.429 + 3.728 8 18. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:29.500 + 3.799 19 19. Alonso Ferrari 1:29.684 + 3.983 15 20. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:29.690 + 3.989 17 21. Fauzy Lotus-Cosworth 1:30.938 + 5.237 27 22. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:31.720 + 6.019 23 23. Schumacher Mercedes 1:32.450 + 6.749 13 24. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:32.791 + 7.090 26
