German GP Friday and Saturday Practice Sessions Thread

[m schumy]

InsideFerrari

Fernando completed the run: his main aim was to scrub the tyres

[vcs316]

Rob's telling Felipe to slow down

Massa springs to the top of the times with a 1m24.017s but is told by Rob Smedley to back off as he is supposed to be scrubbing the tyres.

[vcs316]

"What do you mean by "scrub" a set of wet tyres for Quali?"

It basically means put a single lap on that set of tyres. When the tyres are brand new they have a sheen on top and oils within them that actually makes it more slippery. Once that sheen is broken and the tyres have some heat put through them - by a single lap - they actually offer more grip.

[m schumy]

InsideFerrari

Felipe did only two chronos and he is currently quickest in 1.24.017

[vcs316]

Drive-shaft problem for Sutil. He is out of running for FP3

[m schumy]

InsideFerrari

The time for slick tyres is getting closer

[m schumy]

BBC F1 commentator Jonathan Legard: "The mixed conditions in practice on Friday make performance difficult to read, but the feeling among the engineers ahead of final practice is that the Red Bull, which has some new aerodynamic tweaks, is where it always is, ie the car to beat, and that their closest rivals this weekend, as was the case in Silverstone, are Ferrari rather than McLaren. Mercedes are hoping for an improved performance thanks to some new parts - a new floor, rear wing and other aerodynamic parts but Michael Schumacher is struggling to adapt to the handling characteristics of the new rear wing."

[m schumy]

McLaren will be running their rear blown diffuser upgrade for the rest of this weekend by the way. They abandoned it after Friday practice at Silverstone two weeks ago. Jenson Button said yesterday that he was worried by the pace of Ferrari and Red Bull this weekend. He said: "The Red Bulls and Ferrari look fast, faster than we expected. I don't know if we'll be as quick." On the track, Felipe Massa goes quickest with a 1:24.017 and is then told by his race engineer Rob Smedley that he is only supposed to be scrubbing the front tyres. Brilliant.

[m schumy]

InsideFerrari

Felipe went just out on hard tyres

[vcs316]

Webber is now fastest on hard dry tyres with a 1:20.360. But we are still four seconds off Alonso's time of yesterday.

[vcs316]

49 min: Alonso is out of the garage with super-soft rubber on his Ferrari.

49 min: Schumacher improves again and is now third behind Button and Webber with a lap of 1m18.868s.

48 min: Button is now on top of the pile, no doubt temporarily, with a 1m18.576s.

48 min: Button and Massa press on as they trade fastest sectors.

48 min: Michael Schumacher is up to fifth as the pace hots up. 1m20.302s is 1.6s off the leading pace.

47 min: Button responds with a 1m19.100s in his McLaren to go second quickest.

47 min: Webber takes the top spot away from Massa and re-establishes control with 1m18.675s - 1.123s ahead of the Brazilian.

46 min: Massa completes his next lap and it is fastest of all - 1m19.798s.

[Ste]

Our pace is looking pretty darn good. Everytime someone goes quicker, Felipe beats the time. Really good so far.

[vcs316]

50 min: Massa continues his hard tyre run and is back on top of the times with a 1m17.171s.

50 min: Schumacher goes second behind Hamilton with 1m17.717s as the top order continues to change.

49 min: Massa takes the top spot as the track evolves rapidly but behind him Hamilton finds some speed and takes the benchmark to a 1m17.600.

[m schumy]

I think the chances of getting pole today are high

[WRX202]

Did Lewis just crash again or was that a replay of yesterday? Got no sound here

[Becool70]

Is ALO doing race fuel laps?? Very slow...

[Ste]

Is ALO doing race fuel laps?? Very slow...

What about now? P1, by 0.110.

[vcs316]

54 min: Webber goes third in the Red Bull with a time of 1m17.103s but both RB6s are behind Alonso's Ferrari.

54 min: Alonso is planning a few laps on the softer rubber and is faster still through the first sector.

53 min: Webber is also on his soft tyre run now and is set to move up the order from 12th.

53 min: Behind Vettel, Alonso is the man to watch and he pips the Red Bull by a tenth to top the times for Ferrari.

[Becool70]

What about now? P1, by 0.110.

[vcs316]

55 min: Alonso is the fastest man through the middle sector as Ferrari again demonstrates strong pace here.

55 min: Webber takes over at the front with 1m16.568s - just over a quarter of a second up on Alonso.

55 min: The McLaren pair are heading out on super-softs. This is Hamilton's first outing on the option tyre this weekend.

[WRX202]

Red Bull!

[vcs316]

Vettel pumps in a 1:16.087 and Alonso can't match him on his latest lap.

[Ste]

Alonso P1 again, despite being held up by one of the HRT's.

[vcs316]

58 min: Webber lowers the bar to 1m15.983s with Vettel now second, Hamilton third and Schumacher up to fourth with 1m16.615s.

58 min: Kobayashi is now a strong seventh in his Sauber, with Kubica eighth in the Renault.

57 min: Hamilton flashes over the line to put his McLaren right in the mix second fastest.

57 min: Hamilton is the fastest man through the middle sector.

[vcs316]

Alonso grabs the top time for Ferrari with a 1m15.934s.

[WRX202]

so nice to see Alonso taking the fight to the Red Bulls, I really have a good feeling about this for qualifying

[vcs316]

10:01 Webber blasts across the line in 1m15.708s to take over at the front of the field.

10:01 Alonso and Hamilton are on improving final laps.

10:00 Here we go. Webber is going to rip one now and he sets the fastest first sector and a personal best in the middle section ...

[Greig]

Looks close, hopefully we can pressure the Red Bulls in qual

[Ste]

Vettel, what an amazing lap!

Alonso great job into P2. Had a poor S1, not his PB, so could have been up with Vettel I reckon.

Alonso 4 tenths ahead of Webber in P3. Not bad.

[vcs316]

Alonso slots in second quickest but the gap to Vettel's Red Bull is over a quarter of a second.