Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso of Spain drove the fastest lap in Friday's practice session for the German Grand Prix. The afternoon session was held in much drier conditions after the wet run in the morning, and drivers were about 10 seconds faster. Alonso, who was 19th in the morning, bounced back to clock 1 minute, 16.265 seconds in the afternoon, showing that Ferrari may be capable of challenging McLaren and Red Bull on the 4.6-kilometer Hockenheimring circuit. Sebastian Vettel of Germany prevented a 1-2 for Ferrari by taking second in his Red Bull with a best lap of 1:16.294. Felipe Massa of Brazil was third in his Ferrari in 1:16.438, while the second Red Bull, driven by Mark Webber of Australia, was fourth in 1:16.585. Webber won the British Grand Prix two weeks ago. Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher, the German drivers for Mercedes, followed in fifth and sixth. The top two drivers in the standings, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, lagged behind in their McLarens. Hamilton was seventh and Button, the defending champion, 15th. Hamilton leads the standings with 145 points, followed by Button on 133, Webber with 128 and Vettel on 121. Sunday's German GP is the 11th of the season's 19 races. Hamilton suffered a costly crash in practice. He had to sit out all but 12 minutes of the afternoon session, led by Alonso, after skidding off and smashing sideways into the tyre wall in the morning. The impact, after the McLaren snapped right and skimmed across the grass, damaged three corners of the car. “I'm in the wall, the car is damaged. Heavily,” he said over the team radio. The 2008 world champion, a winner at Hockenheim in 2008, still managed to set the seventh fastest time despite completing just 10 laps after lunch to add to the eight he did in the morning. The morning session, run in heavier rain with cars skidding and spinning as if on an ice rink, saw Force India's Adrian Sutil top the timesheets with compatriot Schumacher lapping second slowest. LG to sponsor Red Bull South Korean-based LG Electronics announced a multi-year deal with Formula One title contenders Red Bull Friday in addition to their existing sponsorship of the sport. No financial details were given at the German Grand Prix. LG's logo will appear on the Red Bull cars and driver overalls and helmet visors. LG announced a five-year partnership with Formula One in 2008, with the company's branding visible on the broadcast feed, timekeeping systems and graphics. South Korea is due to host its first grand prix in October and Dermot Boden, Seoul-based chief marketing officer for LG, was confident it would be a success despite some paddock sceptics questioning whether the circuit would be ready. “We will have a race in Korea, I strongly believe it. I don't think there is any reason to doubt it at all,” he said. “The Korean approach to this will be to deliver not just a race but an outstanding race.” International Automobile Federation race director and safety delegate Charlie Whiting made his first inspection of the track in South Jeolla province this month and is due to visit again at the end of next month. “Whiting made a detailed inspection of the facility and was briefed on the construction schedule, after which he expressed his satisfaction with the progress,” the local organisers said in a statement.
