Venezuelan takes position as track dries
Pastor Maldonado claimed the fastest time on a drying track after a wet free practice this morning at Spa Francorchamps, setting his time on the last lap after changing to slicks to finish ahead of Alvaro Parente and Giedo van der Garde. The Venezuelan's best time of 2:04.889 put him almost a second ahead of his Portuguese rival, although teammate
Nico Hülkenberg, who had set a lot of the running earlier in the session, was likely to take the position after setting the fast first two sectors before pulling into the pits rather than crossing the line. The session opened with a wet track under oppressively cloudy skies, although the rain had at least stopped falling as the teams took to the track, apart for Party Poker Racing.Com SC who had their cars impounded.
Vitaly Petrov and Parente set the early pace, although with the condition of the circuit most drivers were tip-toeing around to avoid any chance of an impact ahead of qualifying. The times were falling throughout the session, but it wasn't until the closing minutes that the times really tumbled: Hülkenberg risked putting on a set of slicks, along with his teammate and Parente, and the trio were easily able to beat their previous times.
With the conditions as they were most of the times will have little impact on what we can expect from qualifying this afternoon, although it remains to be seen if those who risked the slicks have any advantage to carry over: this afternoon's session promises another fascinating battle at the fabled circuit.
Sap-Francorchamps – Free Practice
Driver Team Time Laps
1. Pastor Maldonado ART Grand Prix 2:04.889 12
2. Alvaro Parente Ocean Racing Technology 2:05.858 11
3. Giedo van der Garde iSport International 2:07.119 10
4. Nico Hülkenberg ART Grand Prix 2:07.961 12
5. Jérôme d’Ambrosio DAMS 2:09.453 12
6. Alberto Valerio Piquet GP 2:11.910 12
7. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Addax Team 2:11.929 10
8. Sergio Perez Telmex Arden International 2:12.406 13
9. Javier Villa Super Nova Racing 2:12.760 13
10. Davide Valsecchi Barwa Addax Team 2:12.991 12
11. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet GP 2:13.407 13
12. Dani Clos Fat Burner Racing Eng. 2:13.469 11
13. Edoardo Mortara Telmex Arden International 2:13.488 11
14. Davide Rigon Trident Racing 2:14.008 13
15. Lucas di Grassi Fat Burner Racing Eng. 2:14.231 11
16. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 2:14.377 11
17. Luca Filippi Super Nova Racing 2:14.770 12
18. Nelson Panciatici Durango 2:15.019 12
19. Karun Chandhok Ocean Racing Technology 2:15.410 12
20 Diego Nunes iSport International 2:15.638 12
21. Ricardo Teixeira Trident Racing 2:17.542 11
22. Franck Perera DPR 2:17.592 7
23. Stefano Coletti Durango 2:17.605 11
24. Michael Herck DPR 2:18.071 8
