The world champion Lewis Hamilton returned to the scene of his worst Formula One crash to set the fastest time in German Grand Prix free practice.
The 24-year-old Briton, who crashed heavily at the Nuerburgring in his debut 2007 season, was surprisingly ahead of the championship pace-setters with a best lap of one minute 32.149 seconds in the afternoon.
The performance was a rare positive for the McLaren driver, who has struggled to score just nine points in eight races in an uncompetitive car and is 55 points adrift of championship-leading compatriot Jenson Button.
