Page last updated at 13:36 GMT, Friday, 22 July 2011 14:36 UK
By Ian Hughes and Sarah Holt
BBC Sport
Webber shrugged off the recent team orders controversy to blitz the track at the Nurburgring
Red Bull's Mark Webber set the quickest time in second practice for the German Grand Prix, but was closely followed by Fernando Alonso in his Ferrari.
Only 0.168 seconds separated the Australian and the Spaniard, setting up a tight battle as Red Bull aim to hit back at Silverstone winners Ferrari.
Championship leader Sebastian Vettel was third, with Felipe Massa fourth.
Lewis Hamilton was the highest-placed McLaren in seventh, with team-mate Jenson Button struggling in 11th.
Webber showed no ill-effects from the recent row which followed the team orders instructing him not try to overtake Vettel at the British Grand Prix.
The Australian posted a time of 1 minute 31.711 seconds and appeared to have an advantage over the German, who was told over the radio that he needed to find a couple of tenths in the middle sector to match his team-mate.
Vettel, who is looking for his first win at his home grand prix, for once did not seem quite at his imperious best.
But the German crowd did have an unexpected bonus of seeing seven-time champion Michael Schumacher go fifth quickest in his Mercedes.
Ferrari showed excellent pace - just as they had at Silverstone, where they clinched their first win of the season - and they look to be in a strong position to mount a serious challenge.
Alonso had topped the timesheets in first practice and was leading in the second session before finding the gravel and later skidding when trying to overtake as Webber just outstripped him.
The McLarens appeared to be disappointing, with Hamilton more than a second behind Webber and Button even further back because of the failure of his one-off test exhaust.
The Britons had expected to be quicker this weekend than in their home Grand Prix after teams decided to revert to pre-Silverstone engine regulations after a row over the aerodynamic use of exhaust gases.
Hamilton admitted: "The fact is we won't find an answer for tomorrow. We're down on downforce - that's the only thing that stops Jenson and I doing the same laps as Red Bull and Ferrari as we can't carry the same speed through the corners.
"But nonetheless we have made some improvements this week, some small improvements which were good.
"The Ferraris and Red Bulls are massively quick. We expect to be just behind them but then in the race anything can happen. But we definitely can't challenge them for pole."
Heavy showers and even a hailstorm had hit on Thursday but despite the usual threatening clouds in the Eifel mountains, the teams were able to get through routines undisturbed.
Earlier, it had been a straightforward first practice session but Buemi provided some late drama when he lost control and slid sideways across the track and onto the grass, before briefly being lifted into the air and landing in the gravel.
"That sort of incident really takes the wind out of you," added BBC Radio 5 live F1 analyst Anthony Davidson. "He was lucky not to barrel-roll over.
"He just dipped a wheel onto the dirt and it was very rough out there."
Credit: BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)
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