Russian leads the way in Germany

Vitaly Petrov has started his race weekend in fine style by claiming the top spot in this morning's chilly  free  practice  session  at  the  Nürburgring by four tenths from Nico Hülkenberg and Roldan Rodriguez.

The Russian's best lap of 1.38:752 was more than two seconds faster than Timo Glock's 2007 pole time despite the substantially lower temperatures, albeit that this year's tyres are softer than the medium compounds used during our last visit to the German circuit. Luca Filippi was the fastest man on track during the opening laps of the session, but the Russian was not to be denied: on the ten minute mark he found the pace that was not to be bettered, with Rodriguez and then Hülkenberg setting their best times shortly thereafter as Andreas Zuber spun to a halt across the pitlane entrance, delaying his rivals' return to the pits for one more lap while the marshals moved the stricken vehicle.

Petrov stayed out longer than anyone else, maintaining his pace as he went, but the field were unable to make best use of their second set of tyres after Nelson Panciatici spun to a halt at turn 4, prompting a long yellow flag period, while any hopes of a last lap improvement were dashed by a heavy impact with the barriers by Luiz Razia as the clock ran out.

Nevertheless the times were very close in the top ten, with Romain Grosjean, Pastor Maldonado, Lucas di Grassi, Luca Filippi and Alvaro Parente slotting in just behind the top three drivers. With conditions likely to remain constant for this afternoon's qualifying session, the fans will be hoping for the action to be red hot to counter the cold temperatures.

Nürburgring – Free Practice

Driver Team Time Laps

1. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Addax Team 1:38.752 14

2. Nico Hülkenberg ART Grand Prix 1:39.200 13

3. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet GP 1:39.270 16

4. Romain Grosjean Barwa Addax Team 1:39.292 14

5. Pastor Maldonado ART Grand Prix 1:39.335 13

6. Lucas di Grassi Fat Burner Racing Eng. 1:39.347 12

7. Luca Filippi Super Nova Racing 1:39.450 16

8. Alvaro Parente Ocean Racing Technology 1:39.485 16

9. Edoardo Mortara Telmex Arden International 1:39.652 15

10. Karun Chandhok Ocean Racing Technology 1:39.882 14

11. Javier Villa Super Nova Racing 1:39.895 15

12. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:40.089 15

13. Luiz Razia FMSI 1:40.192 16

14. Diego Nunes iSport International 1:40.211 15

15. Alberto Valerio Piquet GP 1:40.224 16

16. Andreas Zuber FMSI 1:40.264 5

17. Sergio Perez Telmex Arden International 1:40.318 14

18. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:40.346 15

19. Michael Herck DPR 1:40.413 16

20 Giedo van der Garde iSport International 1:40.504 14

21. Dani Clos Fat Burner Racing Eng. 1:40.569 15

22. Jérôme d’Ambrosio DAMS 1:40.773 15

23. Franck Perera DPR 1:41.391 15

24. Rodolfo Gonzalez Trident Racing 1:41.910 16

25 Nelson Panciatici Durango 1:42?537 8

26. Ricardo Teixeira Trident Racing 1:43.797 15