F1: Maldonado Returns To Top In Valencia P1

Formula 1

F1: Maldonado Returns To Top In Valencia P1

Pastor Maldonado is seeking to become Formula One's first two-time winner of 2012...

Jared Turner | Posted June 22, 2012 Valencia (ESP)

Looking to recapture the magic that lifted him to a surprise victory in Barcelona in May, Pastor Maldonado showed the way in Friday's opening practice round at Valencia Street Circuit.

Venezuelan Maldonado, who hasn't had much luck since capturing his maiden F1 win, topped the time sheet with a lap of 1:40:890 in the Williams.

Red Bull teammates Sebastian Vettel (1:40:973) and Mark Webber (1:40:984) were second and third quickest, respectively.

Former World Champions Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso completed the top five, followed by Paul Di Resta, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Kimi Raikkonen.

Hamilton, the 2008 World Champion, is the World Championship leader after seven of 20 races.

Alonso is second, just two points off Hamilton, followed by Vettel another point back in third.

Webber (-9) and Rosberg (-21) complete the top five.

Vettel is the defending race winner of Sunday's European GP.

Incredibly, each event of 2012 has been won by a different driver, with Button (Australia), Alonso (Malaysia), Rosberg (China), Vettel (Bahrain), Maldonado (Spain), Webber (Monaco) and Hamilton (Canada) all scoring, respectively.

The action in Valencia resumes with Free Practice Two, which SPEED will carry live at 8 a.m. ET.

Jared Turner is an Associate Editor for SPEED.com, covering NASCAR and Formula One, and is an Editor for TruckSeries.com. His professional motorsports writing career began in 2005.