Hamilton quickest in washed out second practice for the British Grand Prix

The combination of a sodden track and the limited number of wet and intermediate tyres permitted by the regulations meant it was only when the rain eased off in the second half of the session that drivers began work in earnest.

There was then a further delay when Bruno Senna aquaplaned into the barriers on the way out of the Becketts complex. The heavily-damaged Williams caused a 10-minute red flag period. Senna stepped out unhurt.

Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi was the initial pacesetter, as the Japanese driver showed the same flair that he had in the morning. But his 1m56.474s was then pipped by a 1m56.345s from McLaren driver Hamilton.

That was how the lead order stayed, with Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg moving into third and fourth for Mercedes, and Sergio Perez putting the second Sauber fifth. The Mexican subsequently had a big spin coming out of Woodcote.

Fernando Alonso also had a late incident in the Ferrari while trying intermediate tyres, smashing the car's new-spec front wing off on the barriers as he spun across the grass.

Although times were relatively meaningless in the conditions, Heikki Kovalainen's seventh place to Caterham was certainly noteworthy. The Finn was yet another man to go off the road, although his incident was limited to a messy trip through a big puddle in the grass.


Pos  Driver                Team                   Time              Laps
 1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes       1m56.345s            8
 2.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari         1m56.474s  + 0.129  15
 3.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes               1m56.545s  + 0.200  11
 4.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes               1m56.567s  + 0.222   9
 5.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari         1m57.493s  + 1.148  13
 6.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes       1m57.948s  + 1.603   9
 7.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault       1m58.580s  + 2.235  10
 8.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault          1m58.897s  + 2.552   8
 9.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes   1m58.943s  + 2.598  11
10.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                1m59.015s  + 2.670  14
11.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes   1m59.429s  + 3.084   9
12.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault       1m59.472s  + 3.127   6
13.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault       1m59.476s  + 3.131  10
14.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m59.854s  + 3.509   7
15.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari                2m00.565s  + 4.220   7
16.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth      2m00.820s  + 4.475  11
17.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault       2m01.099s  + 4.754   6
18.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault       2m01.348s  + 5.003  12
19.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth      2m03.719s  + 7.374   8
20.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth           2m04.774s  + 8.429   8
21.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault                               1
22.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari                          2
23.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault                            1
24.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth

All Timing Unofficial