| 09:51:11
| Welcome to F1-Live.com and live coverage of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend. The first of two 90-minute free practice sessions scheduled for today gets underway shortly. |
| 09:52:17
| Since the procession that was the European Grand Prix, the teams have been back in action at Monza, testing over three days at the Italian circuit. Nick Heidfeld set the pace on the second day of running, but this is unlikely to have an impact on this race at Spa Francorchamps, as Monza is all about flat out low-drag speed. |
| 09:54:14
| Rumours of changes to the classic Spa Francorchamps circuit have thankfully proved wide of the mark with circuit officials categorically denying that the track is to be shortened. At 7.004km in length, this is by some margin the longest circuit on the Formula One calendar. |
| 09:56:14
| As ever, the Friday sessions will see the teams evaluating the two compounds on off from Bridgestone that this year are a step harder than last year. The hard (prime) and the medium (option) tyres are available this weekend. For simplicity, I’ll refer to them just as hard and soft. |
| 09:59:12
| It is foggy and overcast this morning at Spa Francorchamps. |
| 10:00:15
| The first free practice session is now underway. |
| 10:01:04
| Kubica, Piquet, Webber head straight out. The circuit is damp in parts. |
| 10:01:16
| With the exception of Ferrari and perhaps Williams, all will complete an installation lap and then pit for checks. Ferrari conducts a short shakedown back at Maranello ahead of the Grand Prix weekend. Nico Rosberg was reportedly conducting a shakedown at Silverstone yesterday. |
| 10:02:17
| Hamilton heads out for his installation lap. |
| 10:03:15
| Kovalainen and Hamilton are on track. The circuit seems dry with just some damp parts in the pit lane. |
| 10:03:43
| The McLaren duo run nose to tail on the installation lap. |
| 10:04:38
| Jenson Button is on track as well in his Honda. No sign yet of Glock, Barrichello, Massa and Raikkonen. |
| 10:05:44
| Barrichello is now on track. No one has completed a timed lap as yet. |
| 10:06:41
| Now Glock heads out in his Toyota having recovered from a cold in Valencia. |
| 10:08:47
| It is very grey overhead, but there is no sign of any rains. |
| 10:10:40
| Glock has pitted. There is no one on track at the moment. After the installation lapa, the teams will be looking at the circuit and the conditions before heading out again. |
| 10:11:05
| Raikkonen and Massa have yet to run. The latter is in his car and waiting to head out. |
| 10:13:06
| Raikkonen heads out first in fact. He may well complete more than a single installation lap. |
| 10:13:55
| Now Massa joins his Ferrari team-mate on track. |
| 10:14:16
| Raikkonen starts a timed lap. |
| 10:15:05
| As ever, the car bottoms out through Eau Rouge with the underside making contact with the surface. |
| 10:15:26
| Vettel, Bourdais, Webber and Sutil join the action. |
| 10:15:50
| Raikkonen ops to pit at the end of his second lap and does not set a time. |
| 10:18:19
| Massa passes another car on the way into the bus stop and set a first lap of 1:50.3s, three seconds off the pace of the same session last year. |
| 10:18:57
| First timed laps from others see Vettel second fastest from Bourdais, Webber and Sutil. |
| 10:19:43
| Vettel runs too deep into the bus stop and Massa gets it sidewats into the first turn. |
| 10:20:30
| Hamilton, Heidfeld, Fisichella and Rosberh are now lapping as well, Heidfeld on the soft tyre. |
| 10:21:43
| Heidfeld runs wide at La Source. He continues. |
| 10:22:09
| The circuit is now busy with most on the first stint of the session. |
| 10:22:59
| Massa improves his own best time again from Vettel, Sutil and Bourdais. |
| 10:23:26
| Hamilton moves second fastest, but still 1.5s behind Massa. |
| 10:24:57
| Alonso's first lap puts him second fastest in the Renault. The run to Les Combes is expected to hurt the Renault team who do not have the power of the front-runners. |
| 10:25:21
| Hamilton improves and demotes Alonso to P3. |
| 10:25:51
| All 20 drivers are now on track. |
| 10:26:25
| Alonso chases Nakajima across the line and is back to second as Massa pits. |
| 10:27:12
| Vettel is pushing hard in his STR as he kicks up some dust at Pouhon. |
| 10:27:25
| Raikkonen pits again and has yet to set a time. |
| 10:28:00
| Piquet cuts across the so called bus stop. |
| 10:29:07
| Hamilton is less than a tenth behind Massa as he pits. Kovalainen's first lap is good for just P15. |
| 10:30:05
| A gain for Bourdais who moves fifth just behind team-mate Vettel. |
| 10:30:27
| Piquet moves into the top ten in the second Renault. |
| 10:30:53
| Kovalainen is also working his way up the order in the second McLaren. |
| 10:33:32
| Jarno Trulli joins team-mate Glock in the top ten. |
| 10:35:31
| Raikkonen is back out. He is the only driver not to set a time yet. |
| 10:36:55
| Kovalainen has moves third fastest, Raikkonen P10 on his first tour. |
| 10:38:03
| A solid lap from Webber, but it moves him just 14th. |
| 10:38:26
| Raikkonen moves third fastest. |
| 10:38:53
| The fastest three are on track. Coulthard is the slowest runner at the moment in the second Red Bull. |
| 10:39:51
| Despite a slight moment at Stavelot, Raikkonen moves fastest. |
| 10:41:22
| Kubica, 13th, is complaining of a lack of rear end grip. |
| 10:42:11
| Vettel runs off track into Les Combes. A bump ride across the grass and he is back on track. |
| 10:43:34
| Alonso is a tenth of his own best time on that lap and remains fifth fastest. |
| 10:44:22
| Massa is now fastest from Raikkonen. Both are on fast laps again. |
| 10:45:00
| Hamilton is third fastest but now four-tenths down as he pits. |
| 10:45:42
| Sutil is running well for Force India. He is currently 12th. |
| 10:47:20
| Rosberg runs wide into La Source. Many have done that and there is no real time penalty. |
| 10:47:44
| Coulthard is back out trying to move up from 20th. |
| 10:48:10
| There are some spots of rain, but nothing serious. The track remains dry. |
| 10:48:36
| Alonso is the only front-runner on track at the moment. |
| 10:49:34
| Coulthard moves 12th fastest. |
| 10:50:11
| Alonso gets all out of shape at turn nine and does a good job to keep the car out of the wall. |
| 10:51:37
| Rosberg and Nakajima are 18th and 20th for Williams at the moment. Both are on track. |
| 10:52:25
| Rosberg pits, and is taking a new front wing, a major setup change there. |
| 10:53:42
| Nakajima is also in the pits and taking a new front wing. Some serious searching going on at Williams. |
| 10:54:04
| Raikkonen and Kovalainen are back out for Ferrari and McLaren. |
| 10:54:42
| Bourdais locks up and runs wide. |
| 10:55:38
| Hamilton rejoins his rivals on track. He needs to find half a second to move fastest. |
| 10:58:06
| Just over a third of the session remains and at the moment, there are few gains in lap time. |
| 10:59:46
| Piquet, eighth, has just completed a run on the soft tyre. |
| 11:00:40
| Kubica is back in the pits and seems pretty unhappy. He is 13th at the moment with team-mate Heidfeld in ninth. |
| 11:02:03
| Button locks up and cuts across the final turn. |
| 11:03:18
| The new wings have not helped Rosberg and Nakajima much as they remain 18th and 20th with Barrichello between in the second Honda. |
| 11:04:43
| Sutil runs wide for the second time at Malmedy. He only just caught the slide. |
| 11:05:47
| Sutil moves into the top ten on that lap but he did cut the final corner after locking a front brake. |
| 11:06:28
| Now Hamilton runs off track at Les Combes. |
| 11:07:01
| Hamilton returns to the pits after a close call with the gravel and wall. |
| 11:07:40
| Alonso is on a fast lap on the soft tyre. |
| 11:08:07
| A gain for the Renault driver as he moves third fastest. |
| 11:09:45
| Nakajima has lapped faster than Barrichello who is now slowest. Barrichello has been in the pits for some time. |
| 11:10:07
| Team-mate Rosberg picks up one position and is now 17th ahead of Webber. |
| 11:11:56
| Button is the next driver to try the softer tyre. He is currently 18th. |
| 11:12:27
| Bo gain for Button on that lap. He remains on track. |
| 11:13:07
| Glock is back out in his Toyota. |
| 11:13:33
| A gain for Glock who moves seventh fastest. |
| 11:14:02
| Sutil's Force India is in the pits with damper changes being made by the team. |
| 11:16:10
| Barrichello is back out in his Honda. The Brazilian veteran is slowest at the moment. |
| 11:17:21
| Hamilton is back out and trying the soft tyre to close the gap to Ferrari. |
| 11:18:31
| Hamilton finds four-tenths of a second on the soft tyre and moves third fastest, a tenth off Massa. |
| 11:19:32
| Kubica is now trying the soft tyre as Vettel gets wide and nearly drops the STR. |
| 11:20:15
| Kubica picks up five positions on the option tyre and is now eighth. |
| 11:20:42
| Sutil's best lap of 1:49.2 has been removed after he cut the final turn. |
| 11:21:11
| Nine minutes remain and the circuit is now quite busy. |
| 11:21:30
| Kovalainen improves and is now P4. |
| 11:22:23
| Massa is pushing hard on the soft tyre. |
| 11:23:05
| Massa also find four-tenths on the softer tyre and is now half a second up on Raikkonen. |
| 11:24:19
| Raikkonen closes the gap to two-tenths but remains second. |
| 11:24:51
| Massa finds another tenth of a second on his next lap around. |
| 11:25:27
| The soft tyre is being used by all in the closing stages. |
| 11:26:44
| Raikkonen, Glock and Kovalainen all on good laps. |
| 11:27:45
| Hamilton locks his brakes into La Source and loses time. |
| 11:28:19
| Webber vaults from 19th to sixth on the soft tyre. |
| 11:28:29
| Massa has pitted. His session is done. |
| 11:29:28
| Despite his error at turn one, Hamilton improves his own best by a fraction and remains third fastest. |
| 11:30:04
| The chequered flag is out. |
| 11:30:30
| Kovalainen takes the flag but remains fourth. |
| 11:30:56
| Kubica does not find time either although Alonso is on a fast lap. |
| 11:32:38
| The order seems set. Massa is fastest from Raikkonen, Hamilton, Kovalainen, Alonso, Webber, Bourdais, Vettel, Glock and Piquet. They now return to the grid for practice starts. |
