Lewis Hamilton led the way in front of his home fans as the Silverstone weather got even worse in Friday afternoon practice for the British Grand Prix.
The combination of a sodden track and the limited number of wet and intermediate tires permitted by the regulations meant it was only when the rain eased off in the second half of the session that drivers began work in earnest.
There was then a further delay when Bruno Senna aquaplaned into the barriers on the way out of the Becketts complex. The heavily-damaged Williams caused a 10-minute red flag period. Senna stepped out unhurt.
Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi was the initial pacesetter, as the Japanese driver showed the same flair that he had in the morning. But his 1m56.474s was then edged by a 1m56.345s from McLaren driver Hamilton.
That was how the lead order stayed, with Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg moving into third and fourth for Mercedes, and Sergio Perez putting the second Sauber fifth. The Mexican subsequently had a big spin coming out of Woodcote.
Fernando Alonso also had a late incident in the Ferrari while trying intermediate tires, smashing the car's new-spec front wing off on the barriers as he spun across the grass.
Although times were relatively meaningless in the conditions, Heikki Kovalainen's seventh place to Caterham was certainly noteworthy. The Finn was yet another man to go off the road, although his incident was limited to a messy trip through a big puddle in the grass.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m56.345s 8
2. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m56.474s + 0.129 15
3. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m56.545s + 0.200 11
4. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m56.567s + 0.222 9
5. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m57.493s + 1.148 13
6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m57.948s + 1.603 9
7. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m58.580s + 2.235 10
8. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m58.897s + 2.552 8
9. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m58.943s + 2.598 11
10. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m59.015s + 2.670 14
11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m59.429s + 3.084 9
12. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m59.472s + 3.127 6
13. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m59.476s + 3.131 10
14. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m59.854s + 3.509 7
15. Felipe Massa Ferrari 2m00.565s + 4.220 7
16. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 2m00.820s + 4.475 11
17. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 2m01.099s + 4.754 6
18. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 2m01.348s + 5.003 12
19. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 2m03.719s + 7.374 8
20. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 2m04.774s + 8.429 8
21. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1
22. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2
23. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1
24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth
All Timing Unofficial