SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS (Belgium): Fernando Alonso was confident Ferrari could continue gaining ground in the Formula One championship fight after leading the rain-soaked practice for the Belgian Grand Prix yesterday.

Alonso’s lap of 1:49.032 on a dry Spa circuit was the quickest, 11 seconds better than his leading morning time, recorded in wet conditions.

Force India driver Adrian Sutil was second with a lap of 1:49.157, while McLaren driver Lewis Ha­­milton was third after trailing by just over two-tenths.

Ferrari have won three straight races at Spa and five of the last seven.

Big splash: Lotus driver Heikki Kovalainen driving into the pitlane during the rain-soaked first practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps Friday. – AP

“Let’s hope it’s our strength that the car responded well in all conditions today,” Alonso said. “You also need a little luck in these conditions as it can make it a bit of a lottery.”

With rain in today’s forecast and teams limited to three sets of extreme wet tyres over the weekend, Alonso said qualifying could throw up some surprises.

“With these changing conditions you need to gamble a little bit in qualifying because you can gain two or three-tenths in one lap,” the two-time champion from Spain said. “Having five drivers in the title fight in these conditions, you can quickly lose a lot of places.”

Overall F1 leader Mark Webber marked his 34th birthday with the 18th fastest lap, while Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel was sixth, behind Renault driver Robert Kubica and Ferrari driver Felipe Massa.

Webber leads the championship with 161 points, followed by Hamilton with 157 and Vettel with 151. McLaren driver Jenson Button, who finished the day in seventh with a lap of 1:49.755, has 147 points. Alonso has 141. — AP

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