Sebastian Vettel topped the opening free practice session for the 2010 British Grand Prix, as drivers attempted to get to grips with the new Silverstone circuit.
The Red Bull ace edged out the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton by just over three tenths of a second – with the Woking-based operation one of many teams to introduce new parts to its car.
Although it may be too early to judge the current pecking order, Vettel’s speed was obvious; with the RB6 appearing best suited to the circuit’s fast corners.
Silverstone’s brand new layout would pose a great test to the drivers, as they attempted to find the best possible set-up to master the track’s new ‘Arena’ section.
Hamilton may well have topped the timesheets, only to have been caught out on a number of occasions by a bump at the newly-profiled Abbey corner.
However, the year-old would not be the only competitor to be caught out by the bump, with Michael Schumacher, Paul di Resta, Timo Glock and Karun Chandhok all having moments during the session.
The brand new Loop corner was also a source of action, during the 90 minutes, with Schumacher having no more than two offs. The Mercedes GP driver was saved by the large run off areas around the corner, as was the likes of Felipe Massa, Nico Hulkenberg, Adrian Sutil and Fairuz Fauzy – who also had moments down at the corner.
Robert Kubica was a promising third for Renault; the Polish driver having tested a number of front wing configurations for the Enstone-based operation.
Red Bull’s Mark Webber was fourth, closely followed behind by Adrian Sutil (Force India), Nico Hulkenberg (Williams) and Nico Rosberg (Mercedes).
Reigning world champion Jenson Button was eighth and will be hoping that there is more to come from his MP4-25.
Sakon Yamamoto found himself at the bottom of the times in twenty-fourth place. The Japanese driver has replaced Bruno Senna at HRT for this weekend, with a press release on the issue expected shortly.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:32.280 22 2. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:32.614 + 0.334 16 3. Kubica Renault 1:32.725 + 0.445 21 4. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:32.747 + 0.467 23 5. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:32.968 + 0.688 18 6. Rosberg Mercedes 1:33.318 + 1.038 21 7. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:33.377 + 1.097 19 8. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:33.519 + 1.239 20 9. Schumacher Mercedes 1:33.955 + 1.675 18 10. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:34.016 + 1.736 17 11. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:34.132 + 1.852 21 12. Petrov Renault 1:34.365 + 2.085 22 13. Alonso Ferrari 1:34.490 + 2.210 20 14. di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:34.580 + 2.300 22 15. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:34.710 + 2.430 16 16. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:34.901 + 2.621 17 17. Massa Ferrari 1:35.037 + 2.757 21 18. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:35.318 + 3.038 27 19. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:36.747 + 4.467 16 20. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:37.330 + 5.050 11 21. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:37.518 + 5.238 15 22. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1:38.735 + 6.455 21 23. Fauzy Lotus-Cosworth 1:39.510 + 7.230 11 24. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:39.673 + 7.393 27
