Just twenty-four hours after his win at Magny-Cours, Felipe Massa was setting the pace at Silverstone, as all ten teams began their preparations for next week's British Grand Prix.

The World Championship leader worked on development of new aerodynamic and mechanical solutions, as well as taking an initial look at set-up of the car for the Grand Prix, which takes place on 6th July.

The Brazilian completed 71 laps on the way to posting a best time of 1.20:188. However, a mechanical problem saw the Ferrari driver, who continues here tomorrow, stop out on track towards the end of the session, preventing the completion of the programme.

Second quickest, 0.289s off Massa's pace, was Heikki Kovalainen, who will surely be looking for a podium finish next week. For the Woking out fit, today's test was all about the evaluation of a new fuel and formulation of (Mobil 1) lubricant, together with initial evaluation of new aero parts and mileage out on new mechanical components.

While Heikki continues here tomorrow, the many fans who have paid (£12) to attend the test - which is sold out for all three days - will be looking forward to Thursday when local hero Lewis Hamilton will be in the MP4-23.

Third quickest, albeit 0.807s off the pace, was Canada winner Robert Kubica, as BMW attempt to put its Magny-Cours misery behind it. The Pole completed 82 laps, experiencing no technical problems, as he tried different set-up options. The programme also included work on the F1.08's aerodynamics, including a new front wing, which the German team hopes will result in a return to form next week.

With the team still on a high from the result at Magny-Cours, where Jarno Trulli achieved an emotional podium finish, Toyota had Kamui Kobayashi at the wheel for his Silverstone debut. After learning the track early on, the Japanese youngster he put in 82 laps of work on aerodynamics and set-up.

"This was the first ever time that I've driven here at Silverstone," said Kobayashi, "although I went around on a scooter yesterday to check the track. This morning I spent the early laps getting used to the circuit. It's fun to drive and I especially liked the sweeping, high-speed corners at Becketts. The last sector is tricky, especially the double hairpin at Luffield where it is difficult to find the perfect line. We spent the day testing set-ups and different aerodynamic configurations. We made it through our programme so it was a good day."

"Today Kamui began the programme with work on aerodynamics and set-up," added Gerd Pfeiffer. "As this was the first time he has ever driven at Silverstone he took a couple of runs getting used to the track in the morning. From then on he worked well, completing many laps and getting through everything we had planned. Tomorrow Jarno will take over as we continue to push in preparation for the grand prix here next week."

Fifth quickest was Nico Rosberg, as Williams looks for an improvement in form for Silverstone and beyond, the Grove outfit having failed to score points in the last two races.

"In readiness for the race here in just under two weeks, we worked through a number of set-up items and completed our scheduled programme without any problems," said Test Team Manager, Dickie Stanford.