Belgian GP: Michelin Friday practice notes

MICHELIN SETS THE PACE AS F1 RETURNS TO SPA

Kimi Räikkönen (Team McLaren Mercedes/Michelin) set fastest time during the opening day of free practice at the Belgian Grand Prix, which is returning to the Formula One calendar for the first time since 2002. The Finn lapped the revised, 6.973km circuit -- a favourite with drivers and fans alike -- in 1m 44.701s during the second of two sessions, 0.314s clear of fellow Michelin runner Jenson Button (B*A*R-Honda).

B*A*R reserve driver Anthony Davidson's table-topping time from the morning gave Michelin a top-three clean sweep on aggregate. With less than one second covering the top ten, Michelin drivers Takuma Sato (B*A*R-Honda, fifth), David Coulthard (Team McLaren Mercedes, sixth), Antonio Pizzonia (BMW WilliamsF1 Team, seventh), Fernando Alonso (Renault, ninth) and Juan Pablo Montoya (BMW WilliamsF1 Team, 10th) were also in touch.

Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin Motorsport Director:

"We have gleaned lots of valuable data about all three of the dry-weather compounds we have available and that has given us an excellent foundation on which to build for the balance of the weekend."

"When preparing for this race, we incorporated lots of the lessons learned during our recent victory in the Spa 24 Hours at this same circuit. This weekend, as far as Formula One is concerned, the challenge for our six partner teams' engineers is to strike the right balance between downforce for the second sector and top-end speed."

-michelin-