Ralf leads first day of Silverstone test

The under-pressure German was 0.121 seconds quicker than McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa.

Mark Webber set the third quickest time for Red Bull, but came to a halt on track right at the end of the test.

The Australian was one of several drivers to hit technical problems during the day.

Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer pulled off early in the morning before later resuming running, while Nick Heidfeld and Vitantonio Liuzzi also stopped at the trackside with mechanical issues. Heidfeld later stopped the test an hour early after developing slight pain in his back.

Liuzzi had missed the morning running after his flight back from the US was twice cancelled. He eventually reached Silverstone at 1pm.

Kazuki Nakajima made the only significant error of the day when he caused a red flag by going off at Brooklands.

The incident only caused damage to the Williams' front wing, but without a spare on hand, Nakajima had to wait until parts were brought from the factory before he could return to the track in the afternoon. Nevertheless, the GP2 racer still completed 124 laps, the highest total of the day.

Williams were one of several teams trying new aerodynamic developments, with Ferrari and BMW also evaluating changes to their aerodynamic packages.

The teams had expected rain to hit today's test, but the weather ultimately remained dry all day.

Monday's testing times:

Pos  Driver         Team                     Time      Laps
 1.  R.Schumacher   Toyota              (B)  1:22.794   71
 2.  de la Rosa     McLaren-Mercedes    (B)  1:22.915   98
 3.  Webber         Red Bull-Renault    (B)  1:23.329   42
 4.  Kovalainen     Renault             (B)  1:23.510   63
 5.  Badoer         Ferrari             (B)  1:23.768   57
 6.  Heidfeld       BMW-Sauber          (B)  1:23.841   41
 7.  Liuzzi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari  (B)  1:24.125   50
 8.  Nakajima       Williams-Toyota     (B)  1:24.665  124
 9.  Valles         Spyker-Ferrari      (B)  1:25.394   36
10.  van der Garde  Spyker-Ferrari      (B)  1:25.931   27