Michael Schumacher was the fastest man at Spa on Friday morning, however, he was just one of two drivers to set a time before the rain.
Schumacher is celebrating 20 years in Formula One this weekend at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. And it was here at the German made his F1 debut, claimed his first-ever race win and sealed World titles.
So it seemed fitting that it was the Mercedes GP driver who claimed the weekend's first P1.
However, Schumacher, who crossed the line with a 1:54.355, was one of only two drivers to set a time in the opening ten minutes before the rain came down. The other was his team-mate Nico Rosberg, who was second quickest, 0.474s off the pace.
Jenson Button was the quickest of the drivers in the wet, taking third place with a 2:02.740.
Meanwhile, it was a dismal start to his Renault racing career for Bruno Senna, who crashed at Turn 9 when he lost control on the wet track.
Report: It was cold, damp and very windy as first practice for the Belgian GP got underway at Spa. Michael Schumacher emerged in a gold helmet as he celebrates two decades in F1 while Bruno Senna put in his installation lap in a Lotus Renault as he made his race debut for the team, replacing Nick Heidfeld.
Schumacher posted the first time of the morning, a 1:55.007 with Nico Rosberg two seconds behind his team-mate. The two Merc GP drivers continued lapping, shaving tenths off their times before the rain came down. With the showers growing heavier, the driver was clear of all cars, drivers opting to inside their garages. After 20 minutes of silence, Jaime Alguersuari ventured out, pitted, then Lewis Hamilton headed out, pitted and finally Adrian Sutil set a lap time, some 20 seconds off the two Mercs. Sebastien Buemi overhauled Sutil while Bruno Senna and Kamui Kobayashi slotted in behind the German.
More drivers ventured out, making their mark on the timesheets. But it was Senna who made his on the barriers as he crashed rearwards into the tyre barrier at Turn 9. Mark Webber headed out, taking third place despite struggling through the Bus Stop. Fernando Alonso claimed fifth place before being dropped as Sebastian Vettel took fourth behind his Red Bull team-mate.
Paul di Resta's morning came to a premature end as he went off at Turn 9, hitting the tyre barrier with the right side of his car. The Force India driver's crash brought out the red flags with 16 minutes remaining due to the position where he was car was stranded. Practice resumed after 10 minutes with Massa improving to third place, Hamilton finally setting a lap time, a 2:04.301, which put him into third place.
However, it was Button who finished in the P3 slot, fastest of those in the wet as the P1 and P2 times were both set by the Merc GP drivers when the track was dry.
Times
01. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m54.355 13 laps
02. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m54.829 + 0.474 15 laps
03. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 2m02.740 + 8.385 8 laps
04. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2m03.752 + 9.397 10 laps
05. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 2m04.301 + 9.946 7 laps
06. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 2m04.663 + 10.308 18 laps
07. Felipe Massa Ferrari 2m04.728 + 10.373 10 laps
08. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 2m05.391 + 11.036 12 laps
09. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2m06.583 + 12.228 16 laps
10. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 2m06.886 + 12.531 15 laps
11. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 2m07.055 + 12.700 12 laps
12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 2m07.481 + 13.126 15 laps
13. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 2m08.233 + 13.878 14 laps
14. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2m08.239 + 13.884 14 laps
15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 2m08.918 + 14.563 10 laps
16. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 2m09.792 + 15.437 8 laps
17. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 2m12.278 + 17.923 13 laps
18. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 2m12.389 + 18.034 10 laps
19. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 2m12.772 + 18.417 13 laps
20. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 2m13.058 + 18.703 8 laps
21. Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault 2m13.090 + 18.735 11 laps
22. Vitaly Petrov Renault 2m13.601 + 19.246 10 laps
23. Bruno Senna Renault 2m14.340 + 19.985 7 laps
24. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 2m14.933 + 20.578 11 laps
