Alonso fastest in damp first practice
Fernando Alonso led a damp first practice session at the Belgian Grand Prix, setting the fastest time during a brief dry spell with a 1:55.198.
<font face='courier new'>[U]<font color='#b22222'>Belgian GP</font>
<font color='#daa520'>Practice Session 1</font>
[/U]</font><font color='#40e0d0'>Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps</font>
<font color='#800080'> 1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m55.198s 11</font>
<font color='#800080'> 2. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m55.224s +0.026s 10</font>
<font color='#800080'> 3. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m55.373s +0.175s 11</font>
<font color='#800080'> 4. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m55.518s +0.320s 14</font>
<font color='#800080'> 5. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m55.614s +0.416s 10</font>
<font color='#800080'> 6. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m55.636s +0.438s 14</font>
<font color='#800080'> 7. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m55.954s +0.756s 18</font>
<font color='#800080'> 8. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m56.110s +0.912s 11</font>
<font color='#800080'> 9. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m56.770s +1.572s 14</font>
<font color='#800080'>10. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m56.858s +1.660s 18</font>
<font color='#800080'>11. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m56.863s +1.665s 10</font>
<font color='#800080'>12. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m57.081s +1.883s 14</font>
<font color='#800080'>13. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m57.084s +1.886s 17</font>
<font color='#800080'>14. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m57.281s +2.083s 14</font>
<font color='#800080'>15. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m57.358s +2.160s 10</font>
<font color='#800080'>16. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m57.821s +2.623s 16</font>
<font color='#800080'>17. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m57.887s +2.689s 16</font>
<font color='#800080'>18. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m58.600s +3.402s 14</font>
<font color='#800080'>19. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m58.929s +3.731s 12</font>
<font color='#800080'>20. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m59.209s +4.011s 12</font>
<font color='#800080'>21. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m59.441s +4.243s 11</font>
<font color='#800080'>22. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 2m03.176s +7.978s 15</font>
Relationship with Caterham good again - Kovalainen
Heikki Kovalainen says he has patched up his relationship with Caterham and hopes to be first in line for a drive if the team looks to replace Giedo van der Garde or Charles Pic next season.
Massa open to other options outside Ferrari
Felipe Massa admits he is looking at options outside of Ferrari next season in case he is replaced at the team.
Vettel on top in FP2 but suffers tyre failure
Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber set a dominant pace in second practice at the Belgian Grand Prix, but the lead Red Bull's session ended early when he suffered a right rear tyre failure.
<font face='courier new'>[U]<font color='#b22222'>Belgian GP</font>
<font color='#daa520'>Practice Session 2
</font>[/U]</font><font color='#40e0d0'>Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps
</font><font color='#800080'> 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m49.331s 22</font>
<font color='#800080'> 2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m49.390s +0.059s 34</font>
<font color='#800080'> 3. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m50.149s +0.818s 34</font>
<font color='#800080'> 4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m50.164s +0.833s 27</font>
<font color='#800080'> 5. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m50.253s +0.922s 28</font>
<font color='#800080'> 6. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m50.318s +0.987s 33</font>
<font color='#800080'> 7. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m50.510s +1.179s 21</font>
<font color='#800080'> 8. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m50.536s +1.205s 27</font>
<font color='#800080'> 9. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m50.601s +1.270s 33</font>
<font color='#800080'>10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m50.611s +1.280s 27</font>
<font color='#800080'>11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m50.629s +1.298s 30</font>
<font color='#800080'>12. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m50.751s +1.420s 27</font>
<font color='#800080'>13. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m50.972s +1.641s 33</font>
<font color='#800080'>14. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m50.991s +1.660s 28</font>
<font color='#800080'>15. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m51.195s +1.864s 28</font>
<font color='#800080'>16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m51.447s +2.116s 26</font>
<font color='#800080'>17. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m51.568s +2.237s 28</font>
<font color='#800080'>18. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m51.644s +2.313s 26</font>
<font color='#800080'>19. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m53.157s +3.826s 21</font>
<font color='#800080'>20. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m53.251s +3.920s 29</font>
<font color='#800080'>21. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m53.482s +4.151s 28</font>
<font color='#800080'>22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m54.418s +5.087s 12</font>
Hamilton bullish Mercedes will recover
Lewis Hamilton is confident that Mercedes will recover from its poor Friday of practice ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix but admits "at the moment we're a long way off".
Vettel in dark over tyre failure
Sebastian Vettel admits he doesn't understand what might have caused his tyre failure during second practice for the Belgian Grand Prix.
No answer from Red Bull - Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen says he has not had an answer from Red Bull over a potential seat with the team next season.
Spa tyre issues unrelated to Silverstone problems - Pirelli
Pirelli has played down concerns that the tyre issues Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso had during second practice for the Belgian Grand Prix had anything to do with the blowouts seen at Silverstone earlier this year. Some drivers have asked for reassurances the tyres are safe, while Pirelli says the most like cause is some kind of debris on the track.
Webber taking nothing for granted
Mark Webber says Red Bull still has work to do to ensure it is competitive during the Belgian Grand Prix despite dominating practice.
Rosberg expects difficult weekend
Nico Rosberg is bracing himself for a difficult weekend at Spa-Francorchamps after struggling to ninth fastest in the second practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Button perplexed by FP2 issues
Jenson Button says he is perplexed by McLaren's drop in performance between FP1 and FP2 for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Ferrari closing on the front - Alonso
Fernando Alonso drew positives from Friday's practice sessions for the Belgian Grand Prix, saying Ferrari has made inroads into the gap to the front.
Lotus won't run passive DRD at Spa, Sauber tempted
Lotus will not run its passive drag reduction device at the Belgian Grand Prix after inconclusive tests with the system during first practice, but Sauber is tempted to race its version.
Pirelli blames piece of metal for punctures
Pirelli suspects a piece of metal on the exit of Turn 13 (the Fagnes chicane) caused the punctures in Friday's second practice session at the Belgian Grand Prix.