Fernando Alonso topped the opening practice session in Spa, as rain pounded the Belgian circuit.
The Ferrari driver edged out his rivals half way through the session, as the rain began to worsen and virtually halted any competitive running.
With around ten minutes of the session remaining track conditions began to improve, with the dark clouds being replaced by blue skies and sunshine. However the track would remain treacherous, as Felipe Massa was caught out at Pouhon; Nico Hulkenberg at Les Combes and Kovalainen on one of the circuit’s run off areas.
Despite this, Alonso would improve on his time in the dying minutes of the session, breaking into the two minute barrier and moving further ahead of rivals.
Although Lewis Hamilton did not return to the circuit in the final minutes, the McLaren driver’s time was still good enough for second albeit nearly eight tenths off the Ferrari.
Robert Kubica was third, after a late flurry in his Renault R30. The Polish driver will be hoping that this effort will stand him in good stead for the rest of the weekend, with his car equipped with an interpretation of the F-duct for the first time this season.
Sebastian Vettel was fourth, ahead of Adrian Sutil who had shared the top of the standings with Toro Rosso’s Jaime Algueruari (16th) in the early part of the session.
Reigning world champion Jenson Button was sixth, edging Red Bull’s Mark Webber – with Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber), Rubens Barrichello (Williams) and Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) rounding off the top ten.
Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps 1. Alonso Ferrari 2:00.797 17 2. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 2:01.567 + 0.770 7 3. Kubica Renault 2:02.081 + 1.284 14 4. Vettel RBR-Renault 2:02.450 + 1.653 11 5. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 2:02.646 + 1.849 14 6. Button McLaren-Mercedes 2:02.913 + 2.116 6 7. Webber RBR-Renault 2:02.926 + 2.129 11 8. Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 2:03.401 + 2.604 17 9. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 2:03.424 + 2.627 7 10. Schumacher Mercedes GP 2:03.489 + 2.692 9 11. Massa Ferrari 2:03.601 + 2.804 17 12. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 2:03.649 + 2.852 17 13. Rosberg Mercedes GP 2:03.654 + 2.857 6 14. de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 2:03.851 + 3.054 17 15. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 2:04.145 + 3.348 12 16. Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 2:04.250 + 3.453 16 17. Petrov Renault 2:04.690 + 3.893 15 18. Buemi STR-Ferrari 2:05.680 + 4.883 6 19. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 2:05.697 + 4.900 18 20. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 2:06.695 + 5.898 14 21. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 2:07.189 + 6.392 15 22. Senna HRT-Cosworth 2:07.737 + 6.940 13 23. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 2:07.955 + 7.158 15 24. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 2:10.507 + 9.710 18
