Lewis Hamilton arrives at the Valencia street circuit in good shape after his first race win of the season last time out in Hungary - the McLaren man will be hoping to make it back-to-back wins in Sunday's European Grand Prix
Michael Schumacher would be driving a Ferrari this weekend and at the epicentre of a monumental sporting comeback story - but pain from a nagging neck injury means the German legend will not be returning to the track
Instead it's Italian driver Luca Badoer in the Ferrari cockpit - and it's a tentative start by the 38-year old as he explores the limits of the Valencia circuit (and does a passable impression of Edvard Munch's The Scream)
Genial Japanese driver Kazuki Nakajima - without a podium finish in his career so far - hydrates himself before stepping into his Williams - the Okazaki-born speedster was seventh and then fifth quickest on Friday
Elsewhere there is a new man in Nelson Piquet's Renault in the shape of 23-year old Swiss-born Frenchman Romain Grosjean, who did a solid job in guiding his car to the 17th fastest time of the first session
At the other end of the time-sheets the battle for the championship is warming up nicely, with Red Bull's Mark Webber going for his fifth straight podium as he seeks to further close the gap on Brawn's Jenson Button
But it's Button's Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello who makes waves with the fastest time in first practice in Valencia, while Button is fourth behind the resurgent McLaren duo of Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton
A blonde and bronzed spectator adjusts her earplugs as the 20 Formula 1 cars zip round the Valencia street circuit on a sunny, hot day on the east coast of Spain
Poland's Robert Kubica lets a rare smile break across his face, despite the fact that his BMW Sauber team look unlikely to compete in the sport in 2010
Kimi Raikkonen gets a close look at the back of his new team-mate Badoer's Ferrari as the prancing horse duo limp to 11th and 18th in the second practice session - a disappointing day for the tifosi
Renault new boy Romain Grosjean makes a more promising debut and moves from 17th in the first practice session up to a credible 13th in the second in glorious sweltering sunshine on the Spanish coast
The bright sunshine and high track temperatures are brilliant news for Brawn and Button - who has had trouble getting heat into his tyres - but blazed to second quickest in practice two on Friday afternoon
There is only one man faster than Button in Friday's sessions and that is Spanish home hero Fernando Alonso who delights the Valencia crowd with Friday's fastest lap time of one minute 39:404 seconds
The mercurial Spaniard celebrates by eating his towel on a sun-kissed day in eastern Spain - Alonso was on pole for the Hungarian Grand Prix and would dearly love to repeat that feat in front of his home fans
The heat is on going into Saturday's crucial qualifying session with Brawn's championship leader Button knowing one more win would be a massive step towards the world championship crown he so covets
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