Belgian GP: Free Practice 1 – Schumacher ahead before the rain, Senna OUT

Twenty years of career definitely deserve a little extravagance for Michael Schumacher, who is sporting a gold helmet instead of his usual red one. This is not the only novelty in the paddock as the Lotus Renault No. 9 is occupied by Bruno Senna. The weather is gloomy here at Spa, and the teams’ weather forecasts differ regarding the potential arrival of rain. A few raindrops are falling nonetheless. All the teams are already on standby. The risk of rain is probably not unrelated to this urgency.

The first timed lap is credited to Michael Schumacher at 1:55.007, followed by his teammate Nico Rosberg. At Ferrari, they are working with tests on the rear wing as well as the front wing, which is being changed. The Scuderia has brought a number of updates to Belgium. Meanwhile, Schumacher has a slight scare in Rivage but improves his time by seven-tenths to 1:54.355.

As Adrian Sutil set off for a timed lap, the rain started pouring heavily on the other side of the circuit. On slick tires, the drivers are obviously slowed down. They all return to the pits. There is an hour and fifteen minutes left in this practice session. It is now raining very hard all over Spa-Francorchamps, a downpour that Gene Kelly would certainly not have disapproved of. Jaime Alguersuari’s engineer indicates that the rain should stop soon, which is not immediately evident. Let’s take this moment to commend the Belgian crowd, who are still present despite the bad weather. Also enduring the weather are the photographers, a swarm of whom have gathered in front of Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes pit.

Already half an hour into this session, and still no cars on track since the two Mercedes at the very beginning of the session. It is no longer raining, but the track is obviously very, very wet. Some drivers are eager to get going, especially with tomorrow’s tests likely to take place in similar conditions. It is the reigning world champion, Sebastian Vettel, who is the first to set off on intermediate tires, despite the many streams on the track. After just one lap, the Red Bull driver returns. It’s Lewis Hamilton’s turn to try his luck, also on intermediates. During acceleration at Blanchimont, the Brit gets a bit of a scare and returns as well.

There are only fifty minutes left. Sutil has fitted the extreme tires and will be the author of the first timed lap on a wet track in 2:16.382, nearly twenty-two seconds behind Schumacher. Bruno Senna is also on the track with rain tires, with a time of 2:17.310. The conditions are improving as Alguersuari takes third place in the session with a time of 2:12.502.

There are forty minutes left in this session, and the track is getting lively. The two Virgins are out, giving the local hero, Jérôme D’Ambrosio, a chance to complete several laps in front of his fans, who remain loyal despite the weather. Yellow flag, Bruno Senna has made a mistake after Rivage and has reversed into the tire wall. The LRGP is badly damaged at the back. The Brazilian is furious with himself: he loses a precious half-hour of practice as the track conditions noticeably improve.

More than thirty minutes to go and Mark Webber sets off for his very first lap. He immediately takes third place with a time of 2:10.799, 16 seconds behind Schumacher and five-tenths ahead of Alguersuari. And he improves with a time of 2:09.852. Alonso sets the fifth fastest time, with Vettel in fourth. As Button starts off, neither he nor his teammate has completed a single flying lap.

Twenty minutes before the end, all the cars on the track are obviously on intermediates. Button completes his lap and directly takes the third-fastest time. Unusual image, Pérez’s Sauber is slowed down by Alonso’s Ferrari. Another image: Di Resta is in the wall at the same place as Senna. I think there isn’t any damage, but I couldn’t get going again. The replays are quite clear: the driver hit hard on the right side. Red flag. The session is thus interrupted, but the clock keeps ticking.

The opportunity for the official cars to set off: superb overtaking by Bernd Maylander on the medical car in Pouhon. He even manages a drift at the exit of the corner, what talent.

« The track is clear », that’s the message from race control, even though the truck on which the Force India was placed is still on the track… There are six minutes left in this session. Massa and Hamilton take to the track: they still haven’t completed a lap. Massa sets a 2:06.830 and provisionally takes third place as Hamilton completes a lap in 2:04.308. Jarno Trulli, who you’ll find in an exclusive interview on Motors Inside this weekend, made a mistake but recovers masterfully.

Button finally takes third place with a time of 2:03.7, followed by Vettel in fourth place with 2:04.7. So it is Michael Schumacher who claims the first free practice session of the 2011 Belgian Grand Prix. A good start to the weekend for the German for his twenty years of career!

Results of Free Practice 1 of the Belgian Grand Prix – Friday, August 26, 2011: