Massa fastest despite crash at Silverstone

By Alan Baldwin

SILVERSTONE (Reuters) - Ferrari's championship leader Felipe Massa crashed heavily but still set the fastest time in Friday's free practice for the British Grand Prix.

Massa, the first Brazilian to lead the Formula One standings since the late Ayrton Senna in 1993, skidded on oil deposited on the track by the Renault of double world champion Fernando Alonso.

The Ferrari spun at the 210kph Stowe corner, slamming backwards into the wall with 33 minutes of the first session remaining.

Massa stepped out unhurt but the car suffered considerable damage to the rear. The red flags came out as marshals removed the wreckage and cleared oil from the track during an 18-minute stoppage.

"It was a big crash, but that's part of the game and I have had much worse accidents in my career," said the Brazilian.

"I didn't see any flags and I had approached the corner in the usual way and then I totally lost control of the car under braking. I tried to slow down, but the impact was still pretty violent."

Alonso had pulled up at the same corner only minutes previously, with a plume of smoke billowing from the engine of his Renault.

Massa, winner of three races so far this season, had been top of the timesheets when he crashed after completing eight timed laps and nobody was able to go faster when the session re-started.