Vitaly Petrov of Russia and Caterham attends the drivers press conference during previews to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit on July 5, 2012 in Northampton, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Caterham
Caterham had a new exhaust and bodywork package and like others with new parts the team had a limited amount of dry running in FP3. For once Vitaly Petrov outqualified Heikki Kovalainen, and after Vergne’s penalty, the green cars earned 18th and 19th spots. Alas it was to be a quiet afternoon for the Russian who suffered an engine failure on a reconnaissance lap before the start and never made the grid. Kovalainen meanwhile dropped to the back after a first lap incident but soon managed to work his way past the HRTs and Marussias to finish 17th.

HRT
Both HRTs outqualified Pic’s Marussia,

Marussia F1 Team's German driver Timo Glock drives during the first practice session at the Silverstone circuit on July 6, 2012 ahead of the British Formula One Grand Prix. (Photo: Getty Images)

showing once again that the Spanish team is making progress despite an unchanged car. Pedro de la Rosa was 22nd while Narain Karthikeyan, who handed his car to Dani Clos for FP1, was 23rd. Both men gained a spot from Vergne’s penalty. De la Rosa briefly got ahead of Kovalainen after the start. Uniquely the Spaniard ran a one-stop strategy on his way to 20th. He finished 12s ahead of two-stopper Karthikeyan, who at one point fought with Pic but ultimately lost out to the Marussia.

Marussia
Recovering from the accident to test driver Maria de Villota, Marussia had a major upgrade package, although the rain made it hard to assess it. Timo Glock spun to a halt in Q1, and had to settle for 20th after Vergne’s penalty. Charles Pic had a gearbox change after a troubled FP3 and didn’t make the 107%, but he was allowed to start 24th. Both cars had a reliable run to the flag, Glock taking 18th and Pic finishing behind having lost time behind the two HRTs before pit stop strategy played out got him in front.

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.


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