Hamilton: Quick

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Lewis Hamilton dominated the first day's practice ahead of the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.

The McLaren driver, fresh from victory at Silverstone a fortnight ago, clocked the fastest time in both the morning and afternoon sessions to set the pace.

A wet circuit greeted the drivers in an opening period dominated by the McLarens, with Hamilton's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen heading off Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso with world champion Kimi Raikkonen in fifth.

The Ferraris improved after lunch but Hamilton remained by far the quickest on the drying surface, clocking one minute 15.025 seconds with Massa and Raikkonen - the pair with whom he currently shares the championship lead - coming next more than 0.7 seconds back.

Hamilton was almost certainly carrying a light load when he posted his fastest lap late in the session but it was a timely reminder of the scorching pace of the McLaren.

"It was a very strong performance from us and it just showed that we are very competitive and that we didn't have any problems," Hamilton said.

"It's going to be close (with Ferrari) but I feel strong, I feel we can definitely challenge for the front row.

"I feel good, I feel comfortable, I feel pretty relaxed. I feel much more positive and confident as a driver than I did last year."

Kovalainen was fourth quickest, followed by Mark Webber in his Red Bull who was the only other driver to finish within a second of Hamilton, such was his superiority.

Alonso slipped to sixth in the afternoon while the BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica, who lies just two points off the pace in the title race, climbed to eighth after spinning off in the morning, crashing into a tyre barrier.

First practice:
1. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 1 min 15.537 secs
2. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) McLaren 1:15.666
3. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1:15.796
4. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 1:16.163
5. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1:16.327
6. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams - Toyota 1:16.606
7. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:16.618
8. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 1:16.719
9. Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams - Toyota 1:16.821
10. Nelson Piquet (Brazil) Renault 1:17.063
11. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull - Renault 1:17.108
12. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 1:17.131
13. Timo Glock (Germany) Toyota 1:17.185
14. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault 1:17.268
15. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Force India - Ferrari 1:17.471
16. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 1:17.500
17. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 1:17.556
18. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India - Ferrari 1:17.784
19. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 1:18.779
20. Sebastien Bourdais (France) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:21.506

Second practice
1. L. Hamilton McLaren 1:15.025 37 laps
2. F. Massa Ferrari 1:15.722 31 laps
3. K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:15.760 34 laps
4. H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:15.990 37 laps
5. M. Webber Red Bull 1:16.017 25 laps
6. F. Alonso Renault 1:16.230 38 laps
7. N. Rosberg Williams 1:16.355 41 laps
8. R. Kubica BMW 1:16.363 36 laps
9. N. Heidfeld BMW 1:16.377 40 laps
10. D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:16.378 35 laps
11. S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:16.422 41 laps
12 J. Trulli Toyota 1:16.530 45 laps
13. J. Button Honda 1:16.542 38 laps
14. R. Barrichello Honda 1:16.677 28 laps
15. N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:16.734 42 laps
16. T. Glock Toyota 1:16.781 44 laps
17. K. Nakajima Williams 1:16.829 21 laps
18. S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:16.860 14 laps
19. A. Sutil Force India F1 1:17.