Felipe Massa had a lucky escape as he warmed up for his British Grand Prix challenge. The Ferrari driver set the fastest time in the first practice session at Silverstone, but crashed into a tyre wall immediately afterwards. Massa, who currently leads the world championship, spun off into the barriers on the approach to Stowe Corner. He lost control on oil from the failed engine of Fernando Alonso's Renault. While his Ferrari was in bad shape, Massa walked away unhurt and was back out for the second session later, although he wasn't as quick that time, coming in eighth. The McLaren duo of Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton showed they will offer a strong challenge to the Ferrari. Kovalainen looked impressive as he finished fastest after the second practice with Hamilton in third spot. Mark Webber, buoyant after signing an extended contract until 2009 for Red Bull Racing, was second and his teammate David Coulthard fourth. Kimi Raikkonen was not on song as he came fourth and then 12th, but the Finn is expected to show his class in Saturday's battle for pole position. Jarno Trulli also suffered at Stowe Corner when his Toyota lost its rear wing and he spun into the barriers. But Robert Kubica knows McLaren and Ferrari will be the ones to beat. The BMW Sauber driver is in second spot for the title battle, but said: "We were not competitive compared to Ferrari and McLaren, but also some teams were in front of us, like Toyota, so we have to improve. "Ferrari and McLaren are in front of us a bit more than they were at the beginning of the season. Now it becomes more difficult. "It looks like especially Ferrari, and also McLaren, have gone forward more than us. To fight for the championship when your pace is half a second slower than the top teams, then it's really difficult, or even impossible."
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