Brazilian sets pace on first day at British GP circuit

Ferrari’s in-form Felipe Massa was the quickest man at Silverstone yesterday, as a three-day test got underway. Massa clocked a best lap of 1:20:188 (he completed 71 laps in all) in fine conditions, just under three-tenths of a second ahead of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen.

Kovi completed 90 laps for McLaren, whose car featured some new aero parts, as well as testing a new fuel and lubricant formulation. Heikki will also be in action today (more on that later) before he hands over to team-mate Lewis Hamilton on Thursday.

Full timesheet below…

1. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:20.188
2. Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) 1:20.477
3. Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) 1:20.995
4. Kamui Kobayashi (Toyota) 1:21.335
5. Nico Rosberg (Williams) 1:21.410
6. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:21.565
7. Nelson Piquet (Renault) 1:21.797
8. Jenson Button (Honda) 1:22.081
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India) 1:22.250
10. Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) 1:23.853

If you’re wondering why Vettel was so off the pace, it’s because his Toro Rosso broke down after just 10 laps.