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Saturday First Free Practice - British GP

Finn Kimi Raikkonen finished fastest in Saturday's first practice session ahead of qualifying for the British Grand Prix with a late lap that ended a Ferrari stranglehold at the top of the timesheets.

Finn Kimi Raikkonen finished fastest in Saturday's first practice session ahead of qualifying for the British Grand Prix with a late lap that ended a Ferrari stranglehold at the top of the timesheets.

Raikkonen, who is second in the Championship - eight points behind leader Michael Schumacher, set a time of 1:22.263 with five minutes of the session to go and finished 0.134 seconds ahead of lead Ferrari man Rubens Barrichello.

Brazilian Barrichello, who will start the qualifying session second after sliding off the track in damp conditions on Friday, boosted his hopes of success this weekend by beating third-placed teammate Schumacher by 0.262 seconds.

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya was the lead Williams driver, with a time 0.878 seconds slower than Raikkonen's, and his teammate Ralf Schumacher was seventh, behind Renault's Fernando Alonso and BAR-Honda driver Jacques Villeneuve.

Canadian Villeneuve, trying out a new aerodynamic package on his BAR, stopped two minutes before the end of the session when the Honda engine in his machine blew up in a plume of smoke.

Spaniard Alonso was not without troubles either, as he spun out of the session after the chequered flag had come out but he recovered to return to the pits ahead of the second 45-minute session.

His teammate, Italian Jarno Trulli, finished eighth just ahead of Scottish McLaren driver David Coulthard, who was 1.625 seconds off the pace of his team-mate and just ahead of the tenth-placed Jaguar of Australian Mark Webber.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:22.263 224.981 km/h 11 2. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:22.397 + 0.134 14 3. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:22.659 + 0.396 21 4. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1:23.141 + 0.878 12 5. Alonso Renault (M) 1:23.316 + 1.053 11 6. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 1:23.591 + 1.328 15 7. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1:23.596 + 1.333 15 8. Trulli Renault (M) 1:23.609 + 1.346 17 9. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:23.888 + 1.625 16 10. Webber Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:23.902 + 1.639 19 11. Button BAR Honda (B) 1:23.925 + 1.662 17 12. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 1:23.939 + 1.676 17 13. Panis Toyota (M) 1:24.484 + 2.221 14 14. da Matta Toyota (M) 1:24.532 + 2.269 15 15. Frentzen Sauber Petronas (B) 1:24.573 + 2.310 13 16. Pizzonia Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:24.942 + 2.679 15 17. Firman Jordan Ford (B) 1:25.044 + 2.781 15 18. Fisichella Jordan Ford (B) 1:25.114 + 2.851 14 19. Wilson Minardi Cosworth (B) 1:25.808 + 3.545 17 20. Verstappen Minardi Cosworth (B) 1:26.262 + 3.999 11 All Timing Unofficial

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