Button quickest race driver in French free practice

MAGNY-COURS, France, July 14 (Reuters) Briton Jenson Button was the quickest race driver in today's first free practice for the French Grand Prix.

Button's Honda was 1.3 seconds slower than the fastest lap of one minute 16.794 seconds set by BMW Sauber's Polish tester Robert Kubica on a hot and cloudless Bastille Day morning at Magny-Cours.

Honda's reserve driver Anthony Davidson was second fastest, 0.339 seconds slower than Kubica, with Button third.

Neither Renault's world champion Fernando Alonso nor Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, now 19 points behind the Spaniard in the title standings after winning the recent US Grand Prix, set times.

While Alonso and Italian team mate Giancarlo Fisichella ventured out only for an installation lap, both the Ferraris remained in the garages, as did the two McLarens.

That did not stop fans of Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, the McLaren driver who parted with the team this week after announcing a move to NASCAR, from displaying a banner of allegiance and thanks.

TWIN TOWERS The main talking point of a low-key opening session was the vertical aerodynamic fins on the nose of Kubica's car.

The winglets, first tested in Spain last week, have been dubbed the ''Twin Towers'' by some within the team as a nod to the Kuala Lumpur skyscrapers owned by Malaysian oil giant and sponsor Petronas.

With most of the main contenders saving their engines ahead of what could be one of the hottest races of the year, little could be read into the times.

However Button, whose team have been the big under-performers of the season after looking promising in winter testing, suggested earlier Magny-Cours may see an improvement from Honda.

''Testing last week was interesting,'' he said.

''We tested new aero parts and personally I think they worked...the lap times were good compared to the competition.

''We have made a step forward in the engine department and also in the aerodynamics. There's a lot of interesting stuff on the car,'' added Button.

''We won't win this weekend, you don't gain a second a lap through some small changes, but I think that we are going to carry on from Indianapolis and probably be a little bit more competitive.'' REUTERS DH PM1625