Button blazes away as Schumacher aims for his seventh title

Jenson Button's attempt to score his first formula one victory in tomorrow's Belgian grand prix got off to a flying start yesterday. The BAR driver posted the second-fastest time in the first practice session ahead of his team-mate Anthony Davidson and Michael Schumacher's Ferrari. His time was bettered only by Kimi Raikkonen in the McLaren-Mercedes.

Schumacher goes into the race just two points short of clinching a record seventh world championship, two more than the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio who won five titles in the 1950s.

There was speculation that the German driver might prefer to wait another fortnight to clinch the title at Monza, in Ferrari's heartland, but Schumacher insisted he wants to complete the job here where he made his formula one debut for Jordan in 1991 and won his first victory in a Benetton a year later.

"It's the most complex track of the year with a succession of slow and fast corners and lots of overtaking opportunities," said Button, 24. He gained added satisfaction from never putting a wheel out of line on a day when Schumacher was pitched into a rare spin after running wide over a kerb on one tricky right-hand corner.

Few circuits nowadays evoke racing's classic era, but Spa-Francorchamps, wending through the pine forests of Belgium's Hautes Fagnes region close to the German border, is one that does.

Spa held its first race in 1925 and although the track has been shortened and sanitised since those pioneering times, it continues to exert a nostalgic pull on enthusiasts and competitors alike.

The unpredictable weather in this part of Belgium often influences the outcome of races at Spa, and if it rains tomorrow the advantage is likely to be tipped away from Button's Michelin tyres towards the Bridgestone rubber used by the Ferraris of Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, who finished sixth in yesterday's practice.

The Belgian grand prix was missing from the 2003 calendar because of a dispute over the proposed ban on tobacco sponsorship, which is due to start in July 2005. Eventually the Belgians agreed to adhere to the European timing and the race was duly restored. "I'm really happy that Spa is back," said Schumacher.

Since winning here in 1992 he has added another five wins at Spa in a total of 82 career victories and only needs to extend his advantage over Barrichello by two points to clinch the championship in what will be Ferrari's 700th grand prix.

Raikkonen, meanwhile, was looking forward to a successful race weekend. "I wasn't completely happy with the car this morning but the team worked on it and it was much improved this afternoon.

"It is always difficult to judge how things will go for the rest of the weekend as a lot will depend on the weather, but we feel that the car will perform well on this track."

Away from the track, the dispute between BAR and Williams over whom Button will drive for in 2005 seemed to have stalled in the pit lane, with Williams still having failed to lodge Button's supposed contract for next season with the contracts recognition board in Switzerland.

This has raised speculation that the dispute may end up in the high court, despite an obligation for signatories of the Concorde agreement to abide by decisions of the Swiss-based arbitration service.

David Richards, the BAR-Honda team principal, has said that a dispute over bonus payments has been resolved with the British driver. At the same time the Button camp has clamped down on talking to the press.

Last weekend the Essentially Sport organisation of Button's manager, John Byfield, banned formula one journalists from an event in London's Docklands where Button was racing his BAR-Honda against a powerboat. Button himself is giving no interviews this weekend.

TV: Qualifying, 12.30pm today, ITV1; 12.10pm tomorrow ITV1