BARCELONA: Red Bull's Mark Webber roared back to the top of the Formula One timesheets in Spanish Grand Prix practice Friday at the track that ignited the Australian's title challenge last year. Webber was quickest in both sessions before and after lunch on a bright day at the Circuit de Catalunya, setting his best time of one minute 22.470 seconds on hard tires in the afternoon while others found the Pirelli rubber more of a headache. “The car ran well today, we've still got some work to do but it was one of our better Fridays,” said the Australian. “It's always been a reasonable track for me here, with a good result last year, so I hope to keep that trend going this weekend.” Red Bull had enjoyed a one-two in the morning but Webber was run much closer by McLaren's Lewis Hamilton in the second session when the Briton split the Red Bulls with a lap just 0.039 off the best time. McLaren has brought some significant updates to Barcelona, as have others, after a disappointing showing in Turkey and the initial signs were positive even if Hamilton was harshly critical of the tires. “The super-hard tire is a disaster, so that wasn't nice to drive,” the Briton told reporters. “I think we are about two-and-a-half seconds off the pace with that tire. Then we switch to the normal soft and it's fantastic. I think you will see most people with that tire during the weekend.” Webber's victory in Barcelona last year, then as now the fifth round of the season, was his first in a campaign that saw him leading the championship and challenging for the title right down to the wire. The Australian is currently third overall, 38 points adrift of champion teammate Sebastian Vettel, but with the momentum building. The 34-year-old has been fifth, fourth, third and second in his last four races and poised to complete the sequence Sunday. Championship leader Vettel was second in the morning, but more than a second slower than Webber's time of 1:25.142, and third after lunch. Vettel, 34 points clear of Hamilton, is chasing his fourth win of the campaign after starting all the races on pole position. “It was the first real chance we had with the new spec of hard tires and I can confirm they are pretty hard,” said the German. “I think it will be tight this weekend, we look in good shape but the others seem quick as well.” Germany's Nico Rosberg was third fastest for Mercedes in the morning ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Mexican Sergio Perez for Sauber. The afternoon session saw a change in the order, with McLaren's Jenson Button fourth ahead of local crowd favorite Alonso and Rosberg. Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher's Mercedes was seventh in both. Venezuelan rookie Pastor Maldonado provided the only incident of the morning when he went off at turn 12 and was stuck in the gravel after completing just 11 laps. Ferrari's Felipe Massa also went off at turn five in the afternoon, without hitting the barriers. “That was close, very close,” the Brazilian said over the radio. “Yep, saw that,” his engineer Rob Smedley answered.
