Lewis Hamilton put aside speculation about his future by recording the fastest time in practice for Sunday's German Grand Prix.

Hamilton's father, Anthony, was last night snapped by Edward Gorman, the Times Motor Racing Correspondent, having what was though to be a discreet conversation with Stefano Domenicali, the team principal of Ferrari. That set tongues wagging at Hockenheim as rumours continue to circulate about which team Lewis will be driving for next season. McLaren Mercedes, his current employers, have strenuously denied claims that he is moving.

The British driver concentrated solely on matters on the track today and picked up from where he left off at Silverstone two weeks ago, when he won the British Grand Prix. Hamilton posted the fastest lap at the end of the 90 minute practice session, beating Heikki Kovalainen, his team-mate, and Felipe Massa, the Ferrari driver, as the trio had traded fastest lap times in the closing stages on a drying track.

The conditions at the start of the session were similar to the race at Silverstone when Hamilton dominated in the rain. Grey skies and heavy rain over a circuit that is normally bathed in sunshine at this time of the year will have served as a surprise to many. Lap times were initially in the low to mid-one minute thirties, but as the rain relented and the quick tyres were applied, so those times naturally tumbled.

Yet, unlike at Silverstone where cars consistently spun off, there was only one main casualty in Hockenheim, as Robert Kubica lost control of his BMW Sauber on entry into the Agip Kurve, sliding sideways through the gravel and into a tyre barrier, finishing 19th, over 3.2sec down on Hamilton who set a time of 1min 15.537sec.

Kovalainen was forced to settle for second, 0.129sec behind, having been last with just under ten minutes remaining. Third-placed Massa was a quarter of a second adrift, with the three drivers on their own as Fernando Alonso in his Renault was down in fourth with a time of 1min 16.163sec, with Raikkonen 0.790sec off the pace.

Nico Rosberg, the Williams driver, and Sebastian Vettel in his Toro Rosso were sixth and seventh respectively and over a second off Hamilton, followed by Nick Heidfeld for BMW Sauber. Kazuki Nakajima for Williams and Renault's Nelson Piquet made up the top ten, with David Coulthard and Jenson Button 11th and 12th for Red Bull and Honda, 1.5 seconds down. Sebastien Bourdais was the slowest, almost six seconds adrift, but only because his session came to a close 31 minutes before the end due to a problem with his Toro Rosso.

Although currently in a three-way tie for the drivers' championship with Massa and Raikkonen, Hamilton leads the way on countback.

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