Ferrari’s Massa leads Belgian GP practice
Published 10:35 am Friday, September 5, 2008
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and former world champion Fernando Alonso each dominated a practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday.
Overall, Ferrari came out on top with Massa getting a clear edge over the field in the morning and finishing a close .05 seconds behind Alonso in the chaotic rain-interrupted afternoon session.
Massa had the day’s best time, clocking 1 minute, 47.284 seconds in dry conditions during the morning session to edge teammate and defending champion Kimi Raikkonen by more than 0.3 seconds. Alonso’s fastest lap on the damp circuit in the afternoon was 1:48.454.
“It was an unusual day because of the changing weather,” Massa said. “Overall, I am happy with the work we did over the three hours.”
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton had confident showings in both sessions, finishing third and fourth in his McLaren.
The practices confirmed that the winding 7-kilometer (4.352-mile) track through the Ardennes woods still suits the Italian cars, with Raikkonen having won the last three races. However, even the Finnish driver struggled with the slippery surface in the afternoon, spinning off the track and hitting a barrier.
The crash broke Raikkonen’s rear wing and damaged the floor of his Ferrari, forcing him to cut the practice short after just 10 laps.
“Let’s hope tomorrow morning there’s no rain so that I can run more consistently in the dry,” Raikkonen said. “In the morning, apart from a few little electrical problems, the car wasn’t bad. Tomorrow we will see what we can do and obviously the weather will be a key factor.”
Indeed, it was evident that Belgium’s fickle conditions with sudden showers and spells of bright sunshine could help determine the outcome of Sunday’s race.
“The wet-dry conditions we encountered are typical of Spa, but they make if difficult to change your setup because you’re always attacking a moving target,” Hamilton said. “Still, we got some good data this morning before the rain came, so we feel we’re in good shape for tomorrow.”
A third practice session and qualifying for the starting grid is set for Saturday.
