All the news from the first day of testing at Hockenheim

The biggest news from yesterday’s test session in Germany was McLaren’s new shark-fin style engine cover (see photo). Red Bull, Renault and Force India already use a similar cover, and clearly the designers at McLaren are keen to see first-hand if the fashionable fin can improve the aerodynamics of its MP4-23 car.

A wet grand prix makes it more difficult to judge the true pace of a car, but it was obvious from Silverstone that McLaren has closed the gap on Ferrari since Magny Cours. Aggressive aero developments like this will have Ferrari worried, no question.

Ferrari will also be worried by the form and confidence of Lewis Hamilton, who set the pace at Hockenheim on Tuesday. The British driver outpaced Kimi Raikkonen by almost half a second, with Williams’ Nico Rosberg in third place.

Full timesheet below:

Hockenheim test, Tuesday 8 July

1. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 01:15.483 (75 laps completed)
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 01:15.803 (63 laps)
3. Nico Rosberg (Williams) 01:16.099 (87 laps)

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4. Adrian Sutil (Force India) 01:16.516 (97 laps)
5. Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso) 01:16.522 (113 laps)
6. Kamui Kobayashi (Toyota) 01:16.570 (65 laps)
7. Nick Heidfeld (BMW) 01:16.593 (59 laps)
8. Nelson Piquet Jnr (Renault) 01:16.856 (111 laps)
9. David Coulthard (Red Bull) 01:17.361 (67 laps)
10. Alex Wurz (Honda) 01:17.825 (89 laps)