Webber, Massa set pace in the rain

SILVERSTONE, England,  (Reuters) – Rain put a dampener  on practice for the British Grand Prix on Friday with Red Bull’s  Mark Webber fastest in the morning and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa on  top of largely meaningless timesheets after lunch.

Fans huddling in the grandstands on what Red Bull team boss  Christian Horner smilingly described as a typical English  summer’s day, with three seasons in as many hours, could only  watch the rain falling steadily on an empty track for much of  the second session.

Only after 51 of the 90 minutes had ticked away did a driver  set a proper timed lap, with Toro Rosso’s Spaniard Jaime  Alguersuari at least giving the crowd some engine noise as he  splashed around.

Massa, the fastest of the Ferrari drivers in the morning,  set his best time of one minute 49.967 seconds right at the end  of the session and on a drying track to topple Mercedes’ Nico  Rosberg off the top.

Webber, last year’s winner at Silverstone, had been quickest  in the morning with a best lap of 1:46.603 despite shutting down  the engine and parking up on track at the end as a precautionary  measure.

He was 14th after the break.

Seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher, who had told  reporters on Thursday that he hoped for rain and got his wish,  was second quickest for Mercedes in the morning and 0.660 off  Webber’s pace.

Reigning world champion and runaway title favourite  Sebastian Vettel, who has won six of eight races to build up a  77-point lead over McLaren’s Jenson Button and team mate Webber,  was 13th and 18th respectively.