Michael Schumacher described weather conditions as impossible for any serious running in Friday Practice ahead of his 300th Grand Prix at Spa. The six-time Belgian GP winner was disappointed to only manage seventeen laps on a circuit he loves so much but is excited to get down to business in more favourable conditions tomorrow.
“Coming to Spa this year is very special for me, especially with the honour of being awarded the honorary citizenship of Spa on Thursday, and I look forward to a stunning race weekend. Unfortunately the weather today did not allow us to do much more than just basic work as there was too much rain coming down in both sessions. There was a lot of aquaplaning, even when just cautiously cruising around the circuit which sometimes you did not see or expect at all, so proper driving was not possible. But we have a lot of basic data from Spa and we know what to expect. Tomorrow’s practice will nevertheless be very important, especially as the weather is supposed to be much better. I look forward to going out on this beautiful track again tomorrow.”
Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg also felt conditions too difficult unless they were taken at a vastly reduced speed and subsequently, there was no need to push hard this afternoon.
“Although it was raining hard, we learned a little about the behaviour of the car today. We collected some data for the starts, balance and tyre temperatures as you can always learn something in the rain. The weather conditions were very special out there but it wasn’t dangerous as long as you went slowly where the big puddles were. We expect it to be dry on Sunday so that’s why we didn’t risk going out too often today.”
