Kobayashi hits back after morning crash

SILVERSTONE, United Kingdom, July 8, 2011 (AFP) - Kamui Kobayashi bounced back from crashing his Sauber to notch the third quickest time in Friday's practice ahead of Sunday's British Grand Prix.

The Japanese driver lost control at the final corner of his last round of morning practice and went hammering into the barriers.

Although the car looked to have been wrecked, the Sauber mechanics patched it up quickly and effectively enough for Kobayashi to claim the third quickest time of the afternoon after Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg.

Red Bull's Mark Webber was quickest in the drier conditions of the morning, 3.3 seconds ahead of Massa.

"First of all I want to say thank you to the mechanics who fixed my car in time for the second free practice," said the 24-year-old Kobayashi.

"When I crashed I had lost control on the wet astro turf."

"Despite this crash, I think it is obviously quite difficult to make any judgments on the car, the balance and the set up in today's conditions.

Kobayashi has scored points in six of this season's eight races and is looking for his first podium finish this weekend.

But he said that flying in Friday's wet conditions would make little difference for Saturday's qualifying. "Our performance in the wet won't count for anything as the track will be dry tomorrow (Saturday)," he said.

"Therefore we are looking forward to more surprises, hopefully nicer ones than we had today." Kobayashi is currently 11th in the drivers' standings with 25 points.