Kamui Kobayashi set the fastest time on Friday in practice for the Belgian Grand Prix.
It was completely academic though, as persistent heavy rain resulted in both practice sessions becoming a complete washout. The rain got worse and worse as the afternoon progressed, and there was even less activity in FP2.
Practice 1
Kobayashi was the only driver to go out on track in the first 45 minutes, setting a 2:17.705. Steady rain deterred drivers from heading out until the final half hour.
When the track finally did allow for some running, it was barely an improvement. Daniel Ricciardo and Pastor Maldonado both briefly took the top spot, but Kobayashi was soon back on top with a 2:11.389.
The Eau Rouge corner was particularly tricky to navigate, with Michael Schumacher, Pastor Maldonado and Paul di Resta all nearly losing control through the saturated turn.
In a surprise event in modern F1, Felipe Massa suffered an engine failure on his final lap, pulling over at the Bus Stop chicane with smoke pouring out of his Ferrari’s exhausts.
Pos. Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 2:11.389 20
2. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 2:11.941 +0.552 14
3. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2:12.004 +0.615 12
4. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2:12.824 +1.435 15
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 2:13.191 +1.802 13
6. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 2:13.861 +2.472 16
7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG 2:14.210 +2.821 14
8. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 2:14.660 +3.271 16
9. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2:14.860 +3.471 12
10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes AMG 2:15.402 +4.013 13
11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 2:15.812 +4.423 11
12. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 2:16.409 +5.020 16
13. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 2:16.786 +5.397 10
14. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 2:16.788 +5.399 16
15. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 2:16.827 +5.438 5
16. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 2:16.861 +5.472 8
17. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 2:17.519 +6.130 14
18. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 2:18.199 +6.810 10
19. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 2:19.546 +8.157 12
20. Dani Clos HRT-Cosworth 2:19.689 +8.300 12
21. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 2:38.701 +27.312 9
22. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 2:40.749 +29.360 4
23. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 2:46.580 +35.191 9
24. Felipe Massa Ferrari N/A N/A 2
Practice 2
FP2 was even worse, with the rain becoming more heavy and persistent as the session went on.
It took 50 minutes for a car to even leave the pits, with Nico Rosberg leading several other drivers. However, not a single one set a fast lap, opting to pit every time.
This continued until the end of the session, where most drivers went out to do a practice start on the pit straight.
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