Webber edges Button in German GP practice
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The Associated Press
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Temmuz 11, 2009 00:00
NÜRBURGRING, Germany - Red Bull driver Mark Webber set the fastest lap in Friday's opening practice session for the German Grand Prix to edge Formula One leader Jenson Button.
The Australian driver clocked 1 minute, 33.463 seconds around the Nürburgring circuit to lead his Brawn GP rival by just under four-tenths of a second.
Although Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel saw his session cut short by a mechanical problem, the Austrian team showed it is serious about breaking Brawn GP's domination through the first half of the season.
Button, who leads the championship standings with 64 points, has won six of the first eight races with Vettel taking the other two, including the British GP three weeks ago where the young German driver led a Red Bull 1-2.
Vettel, who had a fastest time of 1:33.909, has 39 points and Webber has 35.5.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa was third fastest with a time of 1:33.745 ahead of Toyota's Jarno Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella of Force India in cool, overcast conditions. The top nine drivers finished within a second of Webber.
Rubens Barrichello - Button's closest challenger in the overall standings with 41 points - was 12th for Brawn GP. Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso was 10th in his Renault while defending F1 champion Lewis Hamilton of McLaren finished 13th.
Dry weather is expected for Saturday's qualifying, but showers are expected on Sunday. That could favor Vettel, who has notched two of his three career victories in wet conditions.
Meanwhile, Formula One's leading teams revived their threat to form a breakaway series despite FIA insisting that a deal to end the long-running saga over regulations could be made "in the coming days."
F1's fragile peace was thrown into doubt again on Wednesday when the Formula One Teams Association walked out of a meeting with FIA after being told it had not been entered into the 2010 championship and would have no say in finalizing cost-cutting measures.
"We cannot sit back and wait. We have to keep all options open," BMW Sauber motorsport director Mario Theissen said at the German Grand Prix. "And that means we have to look at the other points as well. We have to prepare for all possibilities."
Earlier, FIA issued a statement - titled "Setting the Record Straight" - in response to the teams' walkout in which it said that ongoing negotiations would yield a solution quickly. "I would call (that) optimistic," said Theissen, who confirmed negotiations were ongoing. Though there had been progress "there are still some irritating efforts that have surprised us."
Although Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel saw his session cut short by a mechanical problem, the Austrian team showed it is serious about breaking Brawn GP's domination through the first half of the season.
Button, who leads the championship standings with 64 points, has won six of the first eight races with Vettel taking the other two, including the British GP three weeks ago where the young German driver led a Red Bull 1-2.
Vettel, who had a fastest time of 1:33.909, has 39 points and Webber has 35.5.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa was third fastest with a time of 1:33.745 ahead of Toyota's Jarno Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella of Force India in cool, overcast conditions. The top nine drivers finished within a second of Webber.
Rubens Barrichello - Button's closest challenger in the overall standings with 41 points - was 12th for Brawn GP. Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso was 10th in his Renault while defending F1 champion Lewis Hamilton of McLaren finished 13th.
Dry weather is expected for Saturday's qualifying, but showers are expected on Sunday. That could favor Vettel, who has notched two of his three career victories in wet conditions.
Meanwhile, Formula One's leading teams revived their threat to form a breakaway series despite FIA insisting that a deal to end the long-running saga over regulations could be made "in the coming days."
F1's fragile peace was thrown into doubt again on Wednesday when the Formula One Teams Association walked out of a meeting with FIA after being told it had not been entered into the 2010 championship and would have no say in finalizing cost-cutting measures.
"We cannot sit back and wait. We have to keep all options open," BMW Sauber motorsport director Mario Theissen said at the German Grand Prix. "And that means we have to look at the other points as well. We have to prepare for all possibilities."
Earlier, FIA issued a statement - titled "Setting the Record Straight" - in response to the teams' walkout in which it said that ongoing negotiations would yield a solution quickly. "I would call (that) optimistic," said Theissen, who confirmed negotiations were ongoing. Though there had been progress "there are still some irritating efforts that have surprised us."