UpdateF1 >> Formula 1 News > Alonso steals top spot

Ferrari and McLaren next

The expected rain played a part in second qualifying at Spa with the track officially declared wet some minutes after the off.

It would appear that nobody told Mark Webber, however, as shortly after his late appearance from the pit lane the Red Bull went straight on where it should have turned right, bringing out the red flags for the first time.

Early bath for Webber then, and with the rain falling harder around the higher parts of the circuit everybody decided to take a break from proceedings.

A pity, this, as – and I know I’m want to repeat it – the good crowds around the Ardennes countryside had braved the elements to see Formula One cars and stars, not to look at the scenery.

A good twenty minutes or more passed before Sebastien Bourdais went out for look, but he crawled around at a snails pace – albeit faster than he sometimes looks – and promptly went back to where it was warm and dry.

It was his teammate, Sebastian Vettel, who woke everyone up a few minutes later when, with half the session and a bit more gone, he charged around in a time quicker than he had gone so far.

Time to wrap up warm again and do some driving, then.

With a clearly tricky track – and rain still falling in many places – it wasn’t long before yellows were waving again.

This time it wasn’t an unsuspecting Aussie, but the world champion in the Ferrari.

Whichever way one looks at things Kimi is not having a great time of late, and although he displayed prominent pace here earlier, this was not what he needed.

He got going again, albeit without a rear wing, and while he was heading back to the pits the Force India of Giancarlo Fisichella tripped over itself and slammed backwards into a guardrail.

In truth, it was a nothing of an accident and Giancarlo was out in an instant, but the car standing at the side of the track would clearly need recovering by an on track vehicle, hence the reds halted proceedings for while.

When we finally got going again there were twenty minutes left, and the action warmed up as the middle sector recovered its dry line and drivers were able to go for it in style.

A surprise fastest was Fernando Alonso, the Spaniard hurling the Renault around in the style appropriate to a double world champion in a car on light tanks, to take the top place with a time of 1:48.454, and Felipe Massa roared home just after him to fail to pip him by one twentieth of a second.

The two McLaren’s came next, Heikki Kovalainen ahead of Lewis Hamilton and within a couple of tenths of the front tow, with the hampered Raikkonen in fifth some half a second down on this pair.

Just shy of the Ferrari came Nico Rosberg in the improving Williams, with behind him – and the last man within a second of the front-runner – Vettel in the on form STR.

An excellent eighth, and further ammunition to his reputation as a mixed-weather expert, was Adrian Sutil, the young German showing the Force India team have some genuine pace here in Belgium. Too often, however, the team show real honest pace on Friday, only to fail to hold their standing when it comes to the one that matters. One day they will and, hopefully for a driver that I – for one – think vastly under-rated, this may be it.

The final top ten runners were Jarno Trulli, the Toyota not the force it might be here at Spa, and Nick Heidfeld in the under performing BMW-Sauber. At least Nick can take heart that his underperformance was, today, a match for Robert Kubica, who lined up next and just over a tenth down.

Struggling – surprise, surprise – are Red Bull and Toyota, although had Webber stayed on track he should have easily eclipsed David Coulthard’s 12t for a top ten slot – and perennial tail enders Honda, here comprehensively outgunned even by Fisichella’s Force India, which had half the running they did.

Tune in tomorrow, when the rain promises to be back for another dose of fun and frolics.

Written: Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:00:29