Hamilton and Button held back by the rain but rate home chances

McLaren drivers get a good feeling for new rear wing and are upbeat over hopes for a British win tomorrow

Neither Lewis Hamilton nor Jenson Button can honestly say they can deliver the goods for the faithful but sodden fans who will turn out in their droves this weekend to cheer them on to a home victory in the British Grand Prix after yesterday's practice sessions.

The McLaren drivers are none the wiser after the changeable weather completely disrupted the first two sessions at Silverstone. Their frustration echoed that of all the drivers up and down the pitlane, because, despite the dismal forecasts, they had all come here hoping for at least some dry road running so they could discover whether their places in the pecking order really had changed because of the new technical rules.

"It's a shame today was so wet, because I really wanted to put on a good show for all the fans," Hamilton said after setting the eighth and fourth fastest times. "They had to brave some pretty cold and damp conditions all day, so I'm pleased that it looks like the weather will improve for the rest of the weekend. Fingers crossed.

"Despite the lack of running, today was quite encouraging; we tested a couple of things and I managed to pick up quite a decent feeling for the car."

He might have been able to go faster in the second session, but encountered a slower car at a crucial moment. "It's going to be interesting tomorrow if it's dry," he continued, "because I think our car is looking quite good. The new rear wing also felt quite positive, but we've still got to decide whether we carry it over into tomorrow and the race itself."

Hamilton resumed his record of visiting the race stewards, after avoiding them recently in Valencia, but only because he wanted to be sure of the correct usage of the drag-reducing DRS rear wing in wet conditions. "The rules don't clearly state whether you can use it on slicks in wet conditions, which is what we did this morning," he explained.

"They just wanted to understand so that they could tighten the wording of the regulations for the next race. I also suggested a couple of tweaks to make the regulations clearer and safer, so it was quite a useful visit."

Button admitted that he ended the day feeling extremely frustrated, mainly because so many questions went unanswered because of the conditions. "We thought we'd get some good running under our belts thisafternoon, but the rain meant that didn't happen, and we didn't really get a chance to evaluate everything," he said. "The balance was okay in P1. Hopefully, it's not going to rain for the rest of the weekend, so we should be able to get a better read on how the new interpretations of the regulations will affect us from tomorrow.

"We don't really know if our new rear wing is an improvement over the older version. It has a different downforce level, but I'm still not sure what we're going to run for the rest of the weekend."

Button took one positive vibe from the day, however. "The new facilities here at Silverstone are great – the only problem is that, at our end of the pitlane, we can't see the fans and they can't see us! Still, it's a fantastic effort from everybody involved."

Despite his little spat with Christian Horner over the issue of the new rules governing the blown diffusers, McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh sounded optimistic. "From an engineering perspective, today was quite frustrating, because the constantly changing weather and track conditions made it difficult to gather any meaningful comparative data on the new components and new engine modes we'd brought to this race," he said.

"Nonetheless, we were able to conduct some useful running, and the onus is now on the engineers to devise a good direction for the rest of the weekend, which looks set to be more predictable than today's wet weather."

Weather and TV

*Weather

Today: Mild and overcast, with sunny intervals. Light rain showers in afternoon. Maximum temperature: 19C

Tomorrow: Warmer and drier, with sunny intervals but staying overcast. Maximum temperature: 22C

*TV

Today: 9.55-11.05am, BBCi; 12.10-2.40pm, BBC 1

Tomorrow: 12.10-3.30pm, BBC 1; Highlights, 7-8pm, BBC 3

*Odds

10-11 Sebastian Vettel; 4-1 Mark Webber; 5-1 Fernando Alonso; 13-2 Lewis Hamilton; 9-1 Jenson Button; 33-1 Felipe Massa; 50-1 Nico Rosberg; 66-1 Michael Schumacher; 150-1 Vitaly Pertov, Nick Heidfeld

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Career Services

Day In a Page

Special report: Tamil asylum-seekers to be forcibly deported

Special report

Tamil asylum-seekers to be forcibly deported
The problem with social mobility

The problem with social mobility

Politicians who say they want to break down Britain's social barriers have been told to unlock closed-shop professions – starting in their own backyard
France's sixth biggest city* goes to the polls (*that's London, by the way)

France's sixth biggest city* goes to the polls (*that's London, btw)

Next month expats in the stronghold of South Kensington will have a big say in who is returned as the first French overseas MP
Aftershock: How Haiti's quake hit the whole of Hispaniola

Aftershock: How Haiti's quake hit the whole of Hispaniola

Two years on from the disaster that shook the Caribbean state, its eastern neighbour, the Dominican Republic, fears a new wave of illegal immigrants could hurt its economy
Mean streets at the movies

Mean streets at the movies

Plan B's new film explores the urban tensions that led to last summer's riots – and he's not the only one finding cinematic inspiration in social unrest
Romney hits the magic number, but his smartphone app fails crucial spelling test

Romney hits the magic number...

... but his smartphone app fails crucial spelling test
Car-crash TV: Ferrari quits news after gaffes, rows and poor ratings

Car-crash TV: Ferrari quits news after gaffes, rows and poor ratings

Weeks after the demise of Sarkozy, the TF1 star he's said to have dated finds herself out of office too
Meet your doctor (please don't unplug it)

Meet your doctor (please don't unplug it)

Can a network of hi-tech terminals and online medics make the connection?
The 10 Best cycling gear

The 10 Best cycling gear

It’s summer, it's sunny... it’s the perfect time to get on your bike.
Song of the suicide bomber: How 'Babur in London' negotiated a cultural minefield

Song of the suicide bomber

Daring new opera 'Babur in London' features British terrorists planning an attack.
The school that brought the International Baccalaureate to the East End

Bringing the IB to the East End

The International Baccalaureate is not just for pupils in leafy suburbs.
England must beware brilliant Belgium

England must beware brilliant Belgium

They may have missed out on the Euros but the Belgians have a rash of young players who, thanks to the unifying skills of their coach, look to have a bright future
James Lawton: Liverpool must show new man the respect he needs to do the job

James Lawton

Liverpool must show new man the respect he needs to do the job
2012: the year when England's support decided to stay at home

2012: the year when England's support decided to stay at home

Three Lions will play their Euro 2012 games in front of only a few thousand of their fans
What's wrong with Rory?

What's wrong with Rory?

Is the trouble with the defending US Open champion in his head, in his swing, with his girlfriend – or is it all in the minds of others?