Kubica's quiet start

Robert Kubica enjoyed a quiet introduction to life as a Formula One race driver when practice began for the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring today.

The Polish youngster steps into the BMW-Sauber race squad this weekend to replace Jacques Villeneuve, who is suffering the after-effects of his Hockenheim crash.

But after spending the season clocking up the laps on Fridays as part of his test-driver role, he was on the other side of the fence this morning.

With his engine to preserve for Sunday’s race, Kubica watched the action from his pit – never bothering to hit the track, let alone set a lap time.

Of the 18 drivers who did post a lap time, McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen set the pace with a lap of one minute 21.624seconds – knocking Honda tester Anthony Davidson off top spot in the final seconds.

The Englishman was 0.772secs adrift, while Michael Schumacher started his bid for a fourth consecutive victory with third place in his Ferrari.

Championship leader Fernando Alonso, whose advantag has been cut to 11 points by Schumacher’s winning streak, did not set a time.

Pedro de la Rosa was fourth in the other McLaren, with Alex Wurz fifth in his first outing since his promotion to a Williams race seat in 2007 was confirmed.

Honda pair Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button were sixth and seventh respectively, while Coulthard did not set a time in his Red Bull.