» Belgian GP 1st Practice: Alonso tops rain-hit session

Spa’s typically damp microclimate made its presence felt in the opening practice session for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, and it was Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso who survived the slippery conditions best of all by topping the timesheets at the end of the day’s opening 90-minute run at Spa-Francorchamps.

The double World Champion was the early pace-setter midway through the practice session, and shortly after posting a 2:01.223 – a time that bettered the likes of those set by Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel – he reported via the radio that the rain in the final sector of the 7km lap was getting heavier, and immediately pitted.

Within minutes, the track was trenched by another downpour and everyone poured into the pits.

The rain eventually eased and by the final ten minutes, the Spa weather did another magic trick by turning beautifully sunny, prompting several drivers to venture out in an attempt to improve their times.

Alonso went quicker again, posting a fastest time under the 2:01 barrier, and 0.7s quicker than Hamilton, who elected not to leave the safety of the pit lane and still hung on to second place on the timing screens.

The improved conditions helped Robert Kubica – whose Renault was now equipped with an ‘F-duct’ for the first time all season – to vault into third place in the closing minutes of proceedings.

Finishing fourth-quickest was Sebastian Vettel, who wound up just faster than 2010’s renowned rain master, Adrian Sutil, who took Force India to the giddy heights of fifth-fastest.

Another driver not to test the limits of adhesion in the closing minutes was Jenson Button, who dropped to sixth as those around him improved. He finished faster than Mark Webber, with Kamui Kobayashi, Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher rounding out the top ten.

Incredibly and in spite of the conditions, no one managed to damage their cars in the slippery conditions, although a few drivers – such as Felipe Massa, Heikki Kovalainen and the Spa specialist himself, Schumacher – managed at least one off-track moment.

2010 Belgian GP Practice 1 Session Times:

	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1.	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	2:00.797	17
2.	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	+ 0.770	7
3.	Robert Kubica	Renault	+ 1.284	14
4.	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Renault	+ 1.653	11
5.	Adrian Sutil	Force India Mercedes	+ 1.849	14
6.	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes	+ 2.116	6
7.	Mark Webber	Red Bull Renault	+ 2.129	11
8.	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber Ferrari	+ 2.604	17
9.	Rubens Barrichello	Williams Cosworth	+ 2.627	7
10.	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes GP	+ 2.692	9
11.	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+ 2.804	17
12.	Nico Hülkenberg	Williams Cosworth	+ 2.852	17
13.	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes GP	+ 2.857	6
14.	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber Ferrari	+ 3.054	17
15.	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India Mercedes	+ 3.348	12
16.	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso Ferrari	+ 3.453	16
17.	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+ 3.893	15
18.	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso Ferrari	+ 4.883	6
19.	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing Cosworth	+ 4.900	18
20.	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing Cosworth	+ 5.898	14
21.	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Cosworth	+ 6.392	15
22.	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Cosworth	+ 6.940	13
23.	Bruno Senna	HRT Cosworth	+ 7.158	15
24.	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT Cosworth	+ 9.710	18