With heavy overnight rains, followed by continuous drizzle, Practice One for the Belgian Grand Prix began on a very wet Spa-Francorchamps circuit, resulting in a tentative start.But with no sign that the conditions may actually improve - and more rain expected throughout the weekend - the drivers were forced to get down to work with Alonso almost immediately moving to the front when the big guns came out.
And despite a 12 minute rain break when the conditions were too treacherous for the drivers to be out on track, the rain let up a bit for the few minutes of the session, allowing Alonso to once again lower his benchmark time.
Lewis Hamilton was second quickest, 0.770s off the pace, while Robert Kubica was third for Renault.
Report: A soaking wet track awaited the drivers at the start of the first practice for the Belgian GP with more rain forecast throughout the session - and the weekend. Despite the conditions, the drivers were quickly out of the pits for their installation laps with Timo Glock posting the first timed lap of the morning, a 2:06.752.
With the rain continuing, Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher both had moments with the Red Bull racer losing traction through La Source while Schumacher went off the track at the Bus Stop chicane. Back on the track - and half an hour into the session - Adrian Sutil was leading the way with a 2:03.331 ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg, Pedro de la Rosa, Jaime Alguersuari, Kamui Kobayashi, Sebastien Buemi and Glock.
Schumacher made his mark on the timesheets shortly after, taking seventh place, and sights of the German passing a slower car down the main straight made it clear how treacherous the conditions are with drivers almost blinded by the spray from other cars. Jenson Button claimed eighth place on his first attempt.
With the rain easing off a bit, Button improved to second place before he was dropped as Fernando Alonso went quickest with a 2:02.582. Mark Webber moved up to fourth before his team-mate Vettel dropped everyone as he took the P1 slot off Alonso with a 2:02.450. Felipe Massa slotted into seventh place on his first run. Alonso returned to the front of the pack with a 2:01.223 while Hamilton slotted into second place.
Kobayashi climbed to seventh place as the drivers reported bad light, heavy rain on the far side of the circuit, and the occasional bolt of lightning. Schumacher moved up to eighth. De la Rosa took to the escape road at Les Combes before the field headed back to the pits to escape the rain.
Schumacher and Alguersuari were the first to brave the conditions after 12 minutes of rain and silence. Heikki Kovalainen also joined the action as did Sakon Yamamoto and Vitaly Petrov. None, though, were able to improve their times as they had to contend with standing water. Massa ran wide at Pouhon and Kovalainen took to the gravel.
With just light rain falling, Kubica took fifth place while his Renault team-mate Petrov slotted into 16th place. Petrov's lap time meant only Rubens Barrichello, who is celebrating his 300th GP this weekend, had yet to set a time. But with three minutes on the clock the Williams finally did just that, taking ninth place.
Alonso headed back out, lowering his benchmark time to a 2:00.797 to put over 7/10ths between himself and second placed Hamilton. Kubica moved up to third.
Times:
1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 2m00.797s 17 laps
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 2m01.567s + 0.770s 7 laps
3. Robert Kubica Renault 2m02.081s + 1.284s 14 laps
4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2m02.450s + 1.653s 11 laps
5. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 2m02.646s + 1.849s 14 laps
6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 2m02.913s + 2.116s 6 laps
7. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 2m02.926s + 2.129s 11 laps
8. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 2m03.401s + 2.604s 17 laps
9. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 2m03.424s + 2.627s 7 laps
10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 2m03.489s + 2.692s 9 laps
11. Felipe Massa Ferrari 2m03.601s + 2.804s 17 laps
12. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 2m03.649s + 2.852s 17 laps
13. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 2m03.654s + 2.857s 6 laps
14. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 2m03.851s + 3.054s 17 laps
15. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 2m04.145s + 3.348s 12 laps
16. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2m04.250s + 3.453s 16 laps
17. Vitaly Petrov Renault 2m04.690s + 3.893s 15 laps
18. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2m05.680s + 4.883s 6 laps
19. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 2m05.697s + 4.900s 18 laps
20. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 2m06.695s + 5.898s 14 laps
21. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 2m07.189s + 6.392s 15 laps
22. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 2m07.737s + 6.940s 13 laps
23. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 2m07.955s + 7.158s 15 laps
24. Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 2m10.507s + 9.710s 18 laps
Source: Planet-F1
