BMW Sauber's test driver
Robert Kubica enjoyed a moment of glory with the quickest time in yesterday's
low-key British Grand Prix free practice.
Germany's Michael
Schumacher of Ferrari sits in his car at the Silverstone racetrack during
first practice for the British Grand Prix yesterday.[Shanghai
Daily] |
The Pole, who will not race
tomorrow, lapped the 5.1-kilometer Silverstone circuit in one minute 21.082
seconds on a sunny afternoon.
Austrian Alexander Wurz, another test driver, had been fastest in the morning
for Cosworth-powered Williams in 1:21.946. Japan's Sakon Yamamoto, a new test
driver for the Super Aguri team, was the slowest of those who completed laps at
1:29.678.
Only eight race drivers set timed laps in that first session and while the
afternoon was livelier it was still the unsung reserves, with no worries about
conserving engines for two races, who stood out.
Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, for champion Renault, spun but still ended up
second-quickest ahead of Wurz and Honda's Anthony Davidson.
Toyota's unlucky Italian Jarno Trulli, who has yet to score a point this
season, had a promising day with the fourth-best time in the morning and fifth
in the afternoon.
Ferrari's seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, in confident mood despite
the furore he created in Monaco qualifying two weeks ago when he was stripped of
pole position for deliberately stopping on the track, was fifth and eighth
respectively.
Renault's world champion Fernando Alonso was seventh quickest in the
afternoon.
The Spaniard, winner of four of the seven races so far, leads Schumacher by
21 points in the standings. After four victories and three seconds, Alonso has
64 points. Schumacher has 43 with two victories and two seconds.
Schumacher has won the British GP three times for Fer-rari and the Italian
team added another victory with Rubens Barrichello in 2002, meaning the red cars
have finished first here four times since 1998.
That equals McLaren's feat of four wins here in the past seven years - David
Coulthard in 1999 and 2000, Mika Hakkinen in 2001 and Juan-Pablo Montoya last
year.
Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren has finished third, second and third in the last
three races here.
Fisichella, and Raikkonen are tied for third with 27 points.
