GP – Free Practice 1: Massa, still in front

Felipe Massa on Ferrari managed to beat the two McLarens to secure the fastest time in Friday morning’s free practice at Silverstone. However, the Brazilian was involved in an accident during the last third of the race.

Massa emerged unscathed from this high-speed crash in which the Ferrari was heavily damaged. He lost control of his car on the fuel spilled by Fernando Alonso and his Renault.

This accident was followed by an 18-minute stop to clear the Ferrari and cover the fuel with cement dust.

There was then only a quarter of an hour left, and the condition of the track did not allow for speed.

In other words, Massa remained in the lead despite his accident. His time is 1’19”575, which he took from Heikki Kovalainen, who himself took it from his teammate Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Räikkönen.

The two McLarens manage to slightly improve their times at the end, despite the cement dust at Stowe, with Kovalainen ahead of Hamilton by 0.012 and 0.048 seconds respectively from Massa.

Räikkönen remained fourth at the end of the morning, while Robert Kubica took fifth place for BMW on his second run. His first attempt was hindered by Massa, much to Kubica’s dismay.

Alonso finishes sixth despite his engine failure. His teammate, Nelson Piquet, takes eighth place. Between them is Sebastian Vettel, the young German, who delivered another strong performance for Toro Rosso.

After his retirement announcement yesterday, David Coulthard clocked the ninth fastest time for Red Bull this morning, while Nico Rosberg’s Williams finished in the last spot of the top ten.

Massa’s accident is by far the most spectacular of the morning, but it was not the only incident. Glock had a few scares with his Toyota at the exit of Brooklands while Adrian Sutil for Force India went off into the grass.