Practice doesn't make perfect viewing for fans

Practice doesn't make perfect viewing for fans By Andrew Franczak If you're a fan you might feel a bit short-changed by the practice sessions - most of the teams seem in no rush to get out, coming out for one lap and then go back in the garage to sit around for the 15 minutes before coming back out again. It's even worse today because of the rain and uncertain weather conditions everyone's waiting for everyone else to come out so no one's driving around. Not great if you've paid �180 for a ticket, never mind watching paint dry how about watching the track dry! Finally it gets busier and after doing just one lap Lewis is back out after half an hour at 10.30am. He's finished just outside the top 10 in the one hour free practice session, completing 16 laps with a fastest time of 1:20.048. Jenson Button seems to have got a better set-up than yesterday and is one place behind Lewis in 1:20.157. Nico Rosberg of Williams finishes on top, the first driver to to go under 1:19 with team-mate Kazuki Nakajima a close second. Magnificent men in their flying machines IT'S the morning of qualifying and everyone's been up early - including Lewis. No relaxed breakfast for the Tewin ace, he's got sponsors obligations to fill. It's just atfer 9am and Lewis has already been driving round the Silverstone track - not in his McLaren race car but in a flashy Mercedes, complete with one lucky passenger who's about to get the ride of his life. A Vodafone competition winner has just got to do three laps of the circuit at around 180mph with Lewis at the wheel - hope he didn't have a full English breakfast! Lewis again seems relaxed as he walks back along the pit lane, stopping briefly to sign a few autographs and getting lots of cheers from fans in the (at the moment) sparsely populated grandstands. It's been raining overnight, and the track is damp, there are lots of black clouds and I guess Lewis, with his great record in the wet, is keeping his fingers crossed for a few more showers. After yesterday's politics-dominated day it all seems a bit quiter now, so hopefully, as Lewis says, we'll be able to concentrate on the racing. I have to admit I'm not the biggest fan of F1 when it comes to watching the sport on television, most of the time it lacks genuine excitement unless it rains or if there's a safety car incident. But since coming to watch the sport live at Silverstone (this is my third time at the British Grand Prix) I've been absolutley hooked. Television can never convey the speed and noise of F1 cars. Standing at the exit to the pits bends I'm still amazed these cars don't just leave the ground and fly up into the air. The skill of these drivers is stunning. Yesterday I was right in front of Renault's Nelson Piquet when he spun coming out of Copse at 285mph - he still managed to keep full control of the car, and in a haze of tyre smoke pointed it back in the right direction and get on with qualifying none the worse for wear. There's often a debate about how the cars and their engines are more important than who is behind the wheel, but as Lewis displayed last season when he hardly put a foot wrong, these really are maginificent men in flying machines. Lewis: 'I just want to get on with the racing' LEWIS Hamilton has finished seventh in the second free practice session at Silverstone after an excellent stint in the final 10 minutes, with a fastest lap of 1:20.47. However he was just under a second slower than Red Bull's Sebastien Vettel. Championship leader Jenson Button, who has lost only one Grand Prix this season, had a torrid time, complaining of understeer and finishing well down the field in 13th place. Hamilton has just held an informal press conference outside the McLaren HQ, and he made a brief comment on this morning's developments between the FIA and FOTA saying: "I just want to get on with the racing." Hamilton was in incredibly upeat mood. "I don't feel stressed at all here. With Jenson so far ahead the pressure's off. I'm just living the moment and enjoying it. "The crowd here is incredible, I'm so proud to be part of the British Grand Prix. "We've made some changes to the set-up and the car seems faster. I'm happy with what I did today. "Fingers crossed we can get through to the final qualifying, but bit's really on the edge." Meanwhile back in the media centre things are really starting to hot up. We've just been handed an official statement by the FIA and it says: "The FIA�s lawyers have now examined the FOTA threat to begin a breakaway series. "The actions of FOTA as a whole, and Ferrari in particular, amount to serious violations of law including wilful interference with contractual relations, direct breaches of Ferrari's legal obligations and a grave violation of competition law. "The FIA will be issuing legal proceedings without delay. "Preparations for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship continue but publication of the final 2010 entry list will be put on hold while the FIA asserts its legal rights." So that's it then, war has broken out at Silverstone!

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