Free practice 1: Schu fastest in wet

The first fully wet session of the year confirmed what had been suspected - that Bridgestone wets have an advantage over the Michelin versions. This was clearly illustrated by the appearance of Heinz-Harald Frentzen's Arrows in fifth place, and there were just four Michelin cars in the top 10, with Kimi Raikkonen the best placed in fourth.

Takuma Sato was the first driver to put in a full lap of the track, and the Japanese driver's first effort was over 20 seconds off last year's pole time. With temperatures at a miserable eight degrees Celsius and rain continuing to fall the Ferrari drivers didn't even bother to complete an installation lap until 25 minutes into the session.

Despite the track showing little sign of drying out, the prospect of a wet qualifying session on Saturday prompted may of the drivers to get some experience of their cars in wet conditions. Giancarlo Fisichella set the early pace, and the Italian held the top spot until he was displaced by Michael Schumacher.

The Ferrari star was the first driver to break the 1m40s barrier, and although he was briefly headed by team-mate Rubens Barrichello, a lap of 1m37.717s restored the world champion's place at the head of the field.

Given the conditions it was it not surprising that many of the drivers had off track moments. Nick Heidfeld, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ralf Schumacher (twice) and Mark Webber all had little excursions onto the grass, while Takuma Sato (twice) and Jacques Villeneuve indulged in full-on spins. None of the drivers damaged their cars. In the final minute of the session Ralf put his Williams in the gravel and this time his car was stuck.

Like his fellow Michelin runners he'll be hoping the rain holds off for this afternoon's session.

For full practice session 1 results, click here.