Felipe Massa was the man to beat on Friday afternoon at Silverstone in what proved to be a rain-interrupted second practice.
With the heavens opening up just as Practice Two was about to be green-lighted, only four drivers opted to put in an installation lap in the first half of the session.
However, with conditions improving a little bit, the action finally heated up in the second half as a huge crowd watched on.
Michael Schumacher and Mark Webber appeared to be the two most likely candidates to finish at the top of the timesheets as they traded blows. But, in the end, a late burst from Massa saw him cross the line with a 1:49.967.
Nico Rosberg finished second, 0.777s down on the Ferrari driver, while Kamui Kobayashi was third for Sauber ahead of the two McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
Report: Just moments before practice was set to start, the heavens opened and a deluge hit the track, sparking an almost orchestrated move from the many fans around the circuit putting their umbrellas up. The track temperature was just 17'C.
Timo Glock was the first to brave the conditions followed by Jaime Alguersuari. Glock pitted after just one lap while Alguersuari did two installation laps, complaining of severe aquaplaning. And yet, for some reason, Toro Rosso sent out his team-mate Sebastien Buemi, who opted for just one lap before heading into the pits. Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi was the next out and, amazingly, his team managed to repair his car during the break between the two sessions.
After half the session only four drivers had put in installation laps and no one had set a time as the rain continued a bit heavier than before.
And finally some action as Alguersuari, Buemi and Adrian Sutil head out. Alguersuari set the afternoon's first lap time, a 2:04.096. Sutil took the P1 slot with a 2:00.384, slotting in ahead of Alguersuari, Buemi, Sergio Perez and Kobayashi. Buemi overhauled Sutil at the top bfore he was topped by Alguersuari.
Nico Rosberg joined the action, aquaplaning down the straight and did extremely well to prevent an accident as his car twitched and jerked across the track. Meanwhile, Alguersuari lowered the benchmark to a 1:55.399 but it was soon beaten by Michael Schumacher. His reign was short-lived as the Toro Rosso driver again moved into the P1 slot.
Kobayashi joined the list of those running wide and off the track, although this time - unlike in FP1 - he managed to avoid an accident. Buemi made it a Toro Rosso 1-2, 0.404s behind his team-mate, only to then move ahead of the Spaniard. Pastor Maldonado claimed third place ahead of Schumacher. But it was all-change as Sutil went quickest with a 1:54.676.
Mark Webber finally ventured out, the first of the leading drivers, and took the P1 slot with a 1:53.537 before he was beaten by Schumacher by half a second. However, he came back on the next lap and topped Schumacher's best by 0.437s. Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso also ventured out. Vettel went P15 and Alonso P6. They improved to seventh and second places respectively.
With ten minutes remaining only Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton and Tonio Liuzzi had not set lap times. Hamilton finally put in a time but it was only good enough for P22. However, he did improve to 11th on his second flying lap. Button put in his first time, taking 11th off Button as Schumacher put his car into the P1 slot with a 1:52.325.
In the final seconds, Rosberg overhauled Schumacher only to then be beaten by Massa, who hit the front with a 1:49.967.
Times
01. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m49.967 9 laps
02. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m50.744 + 0.777 16 laps
03. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m51.395 + 1.428 16 laps
04. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m51.438 + 1.471 6 laps
05. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m51.518 + 1.551 6 laps
06. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m51.738 + 1.771 18 laps
07. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m51.781 + 1.814 7 laps
08. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m51.992 + 2.025 13 laps
09. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m52.169 + 2.202 12 laps
10. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m52.189 + 2.222 21 laps
11. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m52.198 + 2.231 9 laps
12. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m52.325 + 2.358 12 laps
13. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m52.578 + 2.611 16 laps
14. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m52.587 + 2.620 6 laps
15. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m52.869 + 2.902 8 laps
16. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m54.023 + 4.056 8 laps
17. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m54.274 + 4.307 16 laps
18. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m54.545 + 4.578 4 laps
19. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m54.714 + 4.747 13 laps
20. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m55.155 + 5.188 8 laps
21. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m55.155 + 5.188 12 laps
22. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m55.549 + 5.582 10 laps
23. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m55.828 + 5.861 10 laps
24. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m56.037 + 6.070 6 laps
