Formula One returned today after a long summer break for the fans but a well deserved one for the sporting body. Yet those who were expecting an exciting FP1 were disappointed as the interchangeable weather conditions at Spa interfered once again.
With Perez first on track it was in fact Michael Schumacher who is celebrating his twentieth year in F1 this weekend who led the session after being one of two drivers to set a dry time. Schumacher's time was an uninspiring 1:54.355 in retrospect to the circuit record 1min 47.263 set in 2009 by Sebastian Vettel his fellow German.
The only excitement of the session came from Bruno Senna, Paul Di Resta and of course Jenson Button and his cup of tea. Both Senna and Di Resta- who caused a red flag- kissed the wall at Turn 9, not especially high impact crashes but session ending nonetheless, not a great start from Senna who's employment has created somewhat of a stir in the Lotus Renault camp. Following this weekend Nick Heidfeld will be involved in a High Court case in an attempt to get his seat back for Singapore, though it looks unlikely. It will be expected that this story will overshadow the weekend.
It wasn't until about five minutes from the end of the session that the cars were allowed back on track and began to put in reasonable times. The session ended with Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton in the top five. With Fernando Alonso eleventh and Mark Webber a dismal 16th with a 2:09.792.
