The Belgian Grand Prix meeting got off to a rainy start, which is definitely nothing new for the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Only in the final half hour of the second free practice session was it possible to use dry weather tyres and a red flag in the final fifteen minutes further reduced the time available for the teams to evaluate the handling of the cars in these conditions. “Given the way things went in both sessions it is really difficult to give a correct evaluation of the situation,” said Stefano Domenicali. “That is the main reason that one must be very cautious in terms of drawing any conclusions from the two sessions. From the little that was possible to understand, there are some teams that seem more competitive than previously, which could create some surprises in the first five rows of the grid. We tried to work through all our planned programme, which included evaluating some new aerodynamic components. Looking to the rest of the weekend, we can say that, as ever at this track, uncertainty over the weather could play a significant role. Finally, I take this opportunity to add, on behalf of the entire Scuderia, our congratulations to those of President Montezemolo, to our former driver, Rubens Barrichello on the occasion of his three hundredth Grand Prix participation, which is a truly significant and important milestone.”

Fernando Alonso: “The impression one gets on Friday does not always get confirmed on Saturday and Sunday, therefore we have to evaluate today’s results with a lot of care. Having said that, it has definitely been a positive day, because the car seems to respond well in all track conditions that we encountered today. The times count for little, or nothing at all, because when the track changes so quickly, times can improve or get worse by two or three seconds depending on the moment when you are out on the circuit. I think the weather will play a key part, both tomorrow and on Sunday: anything could happen. We tried to test all the new components we have here. If the track was to be dry tomorrow, then we must try and improve our set-up, because obviously it is not yet at its best for these conditions, given that we only had a few minutes to test on slick tyres. In fact, I felt the car was a bit nervous, while in the wet it was easier to drive. When thinking about going for pole position, first of all we will have to see what the weather is doing: for sure if it was to rain we will go out immediately because you always learn from bad experiences…”

Felipe Massa: “I am very happy to be back racing at this track, having been forced to miss it last year: I love driving here. From what we could understand on a day like this, the car seems reasonably competitive and that was particularly true on the rain tyres. However, it is only Friday, so we will have to wait to see how the Red Bulls go, given that so far they have proved to be the quickest cars, as demonstrated in qualifying. We had so many things to test today, which explains a few slow laps this afternoon. On the intermediate tyres I immediately had good grip, but even on slicks the situation was not that bad. On the final lap, the only one on the soft tyres, I made a mistake, but the car felt good: obviously there is room for improvement and that is what we will try and achieve tomorrow.”

Chris Dyer: “It was quite a complicated day because the weather evolved continuously. On top of that came the red flag in the final part, which considerably reduced the amount of time we could run in the dry. Both drivers were reasonably pleased with the handling of the F10 in the differing conditions encountered today, which is definitely positive. We had various new components to test, but clearly, with track conditions changing all the time, it is harder to make a correct assessment: we will have to study the available data carefully in order to draw the right conclusions. The forecast is predicting the chance of rain for both qualifying and the race: we will have to think calmly about whether to go for a set-up that veers more towards a wet track or if it is better to opt for a more dry oriented configuration.”

Spa-Francorchamps, 27 August 2010 - The Spa-Francorchamps circuit wasted no time in keeping up with tradition, serving up rain of the light and heavy variety, even a thunderstorm early in the morning and moments of hot weather with sunny skies. In practical terms for the twenty four drivers tackling the first three hours of free practice for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, this meant they had the unusual opportunity of using every one of the four types of tyre – two slick and two rain – that Bridgestone has brought to the track in the one day. The heaviest rain fell throughout the morning, while by the time the afternoon session got underway at two o’clock, the track was beginning to dry, so that towards the end, the slicks made their first appearance of the weekend. But not for long, as the Race Director red flagged the session in the last quarter of an hour, as some spectators had been spotted standing in a dangerous position.

With conditions changing by the minute, the order on the time sheets had even less significance than usual on a Friday, but nevertheless it was encouraging to see Fernando Alonso top the classification in both sessions and Felipe Massa in the other F10 post the fifth quickest time in the afternoon. With the chance of more rain over the next two days, today’s experience is certainly not wasted and the dry running meant that at least the drivers could save their extreme wet tyres for later in the weekend, as the rules state that each driver can only use three sets of these tyres during the entire three days of the race meeting.

In common with the majority of the field, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro would probably appreciate some dry running in tomorrow’s final hour of free practice, to fine tune the set-up of the cars and have a final look at dry tyre wear. Second fastest today was Adrian Sutil in the Force India, the team that sprung such a surprise here last year, when Ferrari’s current third driver, Giancarlo Fisichella finished in second place, behind Kimi Raikkonen who, on that day, secured his last victory with the Maranello team. In third place today was Lewis Hamilton for McLaren, ahead of Robert Kubica, while completing the top six behind Felipe was Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull.