Free practice 2: Schuey shunts

Jordan-bound Fisichella, the man who Benetton has sacrificed to bring Jarno Trulli into the fold, lapped his Renault-powered Benetton in 1m50.192s, a time bettered only by Michael Schumacher, Trulli and Rubens Barrichello in the first session.

"It was an excellent day because we set the time while running a heavy load of fuel," Fisichella reported. "The car was very well balanced and we found a good set-up for the dry. I'm confident we can qualifying in the top 10."

Team mate Jenson Button, meanwhile, climbed to 10th fastest on the circuit where he started third for Williams last year.

Kimi Raikkonen (Sauber) also popped in a fast lap just before the rain fell which was good enough for sixth, while Eddie Irvine leapt two places to eighth for Jaguar.

Rain began to fall 15 minutes into the session, causing Mika Hakkinen to overshoot the La Source hairpin. Moments later, the heavens opened properly and soaked the track.

That reduced the session to wet weather and intermediate tyre running, and it was during this time that Michael Schumacher rammed into the back of de la Rosa's Jaguar on the approach to Eau Rouge. The incident, reminiscent of when Schumacher slammed into the rear of David Coulthard during the wet 1999 Belgian GP, tore off his front wing and damaged a wheel, while de la Rosa also crawled to the pits with a puncture.

Juan Pablo Montoya, meanwhile, joined opening session crasher Coulthard on the sidelines when he spun into the barrier on the exit of Les Combes. The Colombian heavily damaged the left side of his Williams.

Others to hit trouble, meanwhile, were Jenson Button, who clipped the Armco on the left-hand kink before the finish line, while Trulli suffered a lurid spin across the grass at Les Combes before rotating again on the exit of La Source, a feat emulated by his team mate Jean Alesi.

For a full list of times click here.