Hamilton quick, Button hurts back
A record (US) $20 million has been gambled on the British rookie by fellow Britons ahead of his first home race in Northamptonshire this Sunday.
Despite a couple of spins, Hamilton, 22, went barely quicker than both Ferraris and his McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso in overcast conditions.
"Hamilton has sparked a betting frenzy on the race and the betting turnover is up to ten times what is was last year — when Jenson Button was an outsider in the race," said a spokesman for the bookmaker William Hill.
In completely contrasting fortunes, Hamilton's countryman Button ended the session a distant fifteenth and aggravated an injury in his back over the bumps in the high speed Beckett's complex.
The Honda driver will sit out the afternoon session.
Another Briton, Scotland's David Coulthard, ended his own session in the gravel, at the wheel of his Red Bull car that is uniquely plastered with thousands of photographs of fans.