Mark Webber set the pace in Friday's first practice at a rather wet Silverstone circuit before running out of fuel and coasting to a halt.
With the FIA introducing a new ban on off-throttle blown diffusers at this weekend's British GP, many expected the Red Bull drivers to suffer the most. But it was not to be.
Webber crossed the line with a 1:46.603 to beat Michael Schumacher to the P1 slot.
However, the Aussie's best times were set at the very end of the session and on minimal fuel as he finished Practice One by coasting to a halt on the old pits at Woodcote.
Schumacher was second ahead of Rubens Barrichello and Sergio Perez. The latter's Sauber team, though, did not have a great practice as Perez's team-mate Kamui Kobayashi crashed heavily on the pit straight, causing significant damage to his C30.
Kobayashi was the only driver to crash although there were plenty of off-track moments in the wet.
Report: Grey skies and flurries of rain were the order of the day as the first practice session got underway on Friday morning at the revamped Silverstone circuit. As the lights went green, Sebastien Buemi, Jerome D'Ambrosio and Jaime Alguersuari led out the field for their installation laps with plumes of spray rising up behind their cars. Track temperature was a mere 15'C at the start.
"It's wet, but there's good grip and the conditions are much better than expected," said Alguersuari.
D'Ambrosio posted the morning's first time, a 2:03.001. Nico Rosberg put in a 1:51.590, Mark Webber a 1:51.659 and Fernando Alonso spun at the exit of Stowe corner. Jenson Button hit the front, 0.549s up on Rosberg before he was dropped by Webber. Michael Schumacher took fourth ahead of Rubens Barrichello.
Buemi locked up at Vale and went on an off-road excursion that took him back into the pit lane. Lewis Hamilton improved from seventh to third, just inside a second of Button's best, while Sebastian Vettel put his Red Bull into seventh place before climbing to second.
Vettel ran wide exiting Club corner and had to take to the artificial grass, Sergio Perez lost control of his Sauber C30 at Woodcote and Schumacher was sent working a mass of gravel off his tyres and out of his car.
Halfway through the session it was Schumacher leading the way with a 1:48.388. Vettel was second, 0.406s adrift, followed by Massa, Button, Hamilton, Rosberg, Webber and Alguersuari.
Rosberg put his Merc up to third place as Perez recovered from his early incident to take P7 ahead of Paul di Resta, Webber and Kamui Kobayashi. Hamilton put on some slick tyres to tiptoe around the track as McLaren did aero testing. A rather treacherous journey for the former World Champ.
Alonso was the next to lead the way, crossing the line with a 1:48.161 as Vitaly Petrov became the latest to taste the grass and gravel surrounding the asphalt. Webber improved to second with Alguersuari putting his STR6 up into an impressive fourth place.
With the rain coming down a lot heavier, the chances of times improving was pretty much destroyed. However, there was still a lot of work to be done in the final 20 minutes as the teams are now without their off-throttle blown diffuser. Schumacher went back out and quickly put his car into the gravel at Luffield before heading back into the pits.
Kobayashi suffered a massive shunt at the final corner, he touched the grass and next thing was in the barriers on the pit straight. The Japanese driver climbed unaided from his car, however, his C30 did not fare as well, suffering massive damage.
With the rain having abated, Webber hit the front with a 1:47.553. The Red Bull driver, who won the 2010 British GP, continued lapping, lowering the benchmark to a 1:46.881, a full second up on Ferrari's Massa. Rosberg then took second before he was dropped by Schumacher. Barrichello climbed to third ahead of Perez, Massa and Rosberg.
The session ended with Webber in the P1 slot by 0.660s up on Schumacher. However, it also ended with Webber coasting down the old pit lane before finally coming to a halt.
Times
01. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m46.603 19 laps
02. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m47.263 + 0.660 20 laps
03. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m47.347 + 0.744 23 laps
04. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m47.422 + 0.819 22 laps
05. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m47.562 + 0.959 13 laps
06. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m47.758 + 1.155 23 laps
07. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m48.161 + 1.558 16 laps
08. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m48.549 + 1.946 21 laps
09. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m48.598 + 1.995 19 laps
10. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m48.678 + 2.075 22 laps
11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m48.730 + 2.127 18 laps
12. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m48.778 + 2.175 18 laps
13. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m48.794 + 2.191 21 laps
14. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m48.809 + 2.206 17 laps
15. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m48.841 + 2.238 23 laps
16. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m48.941 + 2.338 20 laps
17. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m49.603 + 3.000 15 laps
18. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m50.133 + 3.530 17 laps
19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m50.222 + 3.619 14 laps
20. Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault 1m51.119 + 4.516 17 laps
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m52.470 + 5.867 17 laps
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m53.143 + 6.540 20 laps
23. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m53.469 + 6.866 26 laps
24. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m54.334 + 7.731 24 laps
