Button quickest in first of Barcelona GP practices

Agence France-Presse

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The 29-year-old Englishman clocked a best time of one minute and 21.799 seconds to top the time-sheets ahead of Italian Jarno Trulli of Toyota and Pole Robert Kubica who delivered a surprise fast lap for BMW Sauber late in the session.

Kubica's BMW teammate German Nick Heidfeld was fourth, suggesting the team may have overcome their early-season problems with a heavily-revised car, but they are almost half a second off the pace set by Button.

The title-race leader was at his best again in the revised Brawn showing that he and the new surprise package team may still be the outfit to beat this weekend. Japanese Kazuki Nakajima was fifth for Williams ahead of his teammate Nico Rosberg. The Ferraris improved but not sufficiently to upset the top end of the field and both McLarens continued to toil, world champion Briton Lewis Hamilton winding up 14th. Home hero and two times champion Fernando Alonso of Renault was 17th.

After Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais began the day with an early fastest lap for Toro Rosso, it was the usual suspect German-born Finn Nico Rosberg in his Williams who lapped quickest, ahead of Massa's Ferrari.

Rush of speed
It was not long before the Brazilian was on top and, after a succession of cars had gone off through some gravel and recovered, then surpassed by championship leader Button.

Massa's first rush of speed this season came to a premature end with mechanical problems - with the front two flanges, a spokesman explained - before Trulli in his Toyota set the fastest time. Button then went top with a lap on softer tyres towards the end.

On a dry, if slightly cloudy morning with the sun trying to burst through, it was good to see some welcome unpredictability again but a pity that Massa and McLaren's Finn Heikki Kovalainen were stuck in the pits, the latter with gearbox problems.

Meanwhile, Alonso displayed his dignity and heart when he pushed aside his old differences with Hamilton and reiterated that the Briton will recover from his current problems.

He said: "The problems I had there were with the big bosses, and the philosophy of the team, so I decided to move on from that period of my career. But Lewis has always been a great driver, a great champion, fighting for the world championship in his first season in Formula 1, winning in the second season."