Webber Fastest in Wet 1st Practice for British GP
Mark Webber was fastest in a wet first practice for Formula One's British Grand Prix on Friday as the Red Bull driver chases a second successive Silverstone victory.
The 34-year-old Australian posted a quickest lap of 1 minute, 46.603 seconds around the circuit, two-thirds of a second faster than Michael Schumacher, while Rubens Barrichello was third.
Championship leader Sebastian Vettel was down in 13th — more than two seconds slower than Red Bull teammate Webber.
During the 90-minute session, Kamui Kobayashi crashed his Sauber near the end, running wide on the final turn onto the pit straight before hitting the tire wall. The Japanese driver wrecked the front right and rear left of the car but was unharmed.
While Webber topped the time sheet, Hispania's Daniel Ricciardo was slowest, almost eight seconds adrift of his fellow Australian ahead of his F1 debut on Sunday.
The poor morning conditions offered few indications that Vettel's dominance is under threat after winning six of the opening eight races to build a commanding 77-point lead over Jenson Button and Webber.
Such supremacy has heightened comparisons between Vettel and Mercedes driver Schumacher, who won the title for five consecutive times from 2000.
Even though the seven-time world champion is experiencing a second miserable season after coming out of a three-year retirement, the German has no problems with his compatriot, dubbed "Baby Schumi," one day surpassing his records.
The 24-year-old Vettel, though, has a long way to go. Although Vettel became F1's youngest title winner last season, Schumacher still holds the records for championships, race wins — both overall and in one season — and pole positions.
"I get on very well with him, he is a good friend of mine," said Schumacher, who is 10th in the championship and 160 points behind Vettel. "I would have no hard feelings if he did beat my records. I feel he would deserve it because he would have worked hard for it."
The 42-year-old Schumacher believes it will be difficult for any driver to catch Vettel this season, but sounded a note of caution.
"He must never feel as if he is unstoppable because you know how fragile things are, how much work, how much attention is needed to be in the position you are in, to stay there, and how quickly it may disappear," Schumacher said. "He maybe doesn't have that experience yet, but I do. At the moment he is managing to extract the maximum, so there could still be a period of dominance."
Despite his own lackluster return to the series he retired from in 2006, Schumacher is determined to carry on into next season and see out his three-year contract with Mercedes.
"I've always had the option to stop at any moment I wanted," he said. "But I'm here for a fixed target, a three-year program, and that is what it is.
"I'm still learning about how to work with the team, how to get the car to work. This is a constant development, and I'm not yet at 100 percent, although you could always say that's the case."
Schumacher followed up a fourth-place finish in Montreal with a 17th-place showing at the European Grand Prix last month, failing to reach the podium in his 27th race since coming out of retirement.
"We have a package which means it is not possible for us to get onto the podium," said Schumacher, whose last top-three finish was a Chinese GP win in October 2005.
