Ecclestone Warns Donington's Owners Over 2010 Plans

Bernie Ecclestone yesterday warned Donington Park's owners that he has a number of options open to him if they fail to fulfill their British grand prix contract.

Questions have today been raised about Donington's plans to host the race from 2010 in the wake of Lee Gill's departure as the chief operating officer of Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd, only two months after the company acquired the rights to host the race. Gill was a co-founder of DVLL with the chief executive, Simon Gillett, who is now in sole charge.

Asked whether he had contingency plans should Donington fall through, Ecclestone said: "We've plenty of things to plug the holes." But formula one's commercial rights holder emphasized: "We've a contract with them, which I hope they honor. I'm not even considering there won't be a race there."

Planning permission for the £100m redevelopment of the track to bring it up to formula one standards is due to be submitted to North West Leicestershire district council early next week.

Tomorrow's Belgian grand prix is a more pressing issue for Lewis Hamilton, and he is ready to move up a gear today as he tries to snatch pole position from Felipe Massa after trailing behind the Brazilian's Ferrari in practice yesterday.

Massa continued where he left off in Valencia by heading the field after the first two sessions of practice but Hamilton, third fastest in the morning and fourth in the afternoon, believes he is well-placed to seize a place at the front of the grid on a circuit notorious for its fickle weather and its difficulty to overtake. The British driver has won the last three grands prix staged in the wet.

"We got some good data this morning before the rain came, so we're in good shape for final free practice and qualifying tomorrow," he said.

The fastest time of the day was set by Massa when the track was dry during the morning session. Spots of rain in the afternoon made the surface treacherous in places, Kimi Raikkonen -who has won the last three races at Spa - suffering most when an innocuous mistake sent the world champion into the barrier and wiped the rear wing off his Ferrari.

Hamilton will have noted that the fastest time in the afternoon had been set in the closing minutes by Fernando Alonso's Renault, an unexpected development attributed to the former world champion using his skill and experience on a slippery track with a car not normally associated with the top of the time sheet.

Hamilton is no stranger to success in the wet, having won at Silverstone and Monaco this year and in Japan last year. "This track is a great challenge in the dry, but in the wet it will be so tricky," he said. But he added: "If it is wet, I'll look forward to it. We were strong in Monaco and Silverstone, so I don't mind."