Schumacher Prays for Rain

Torrential rain yesterday wiped out the second practice session for the Belgian grand prix, seconds after the first man on the flooded tarmac, Vitantonio Liuzzi, crashed his Red Bull into the barrier at the tricky Les Combes corner.

As the session was red-flagged to a halt and the mechanics busied themselves wiping down the cars in the pit-lane garages, Michael Schumacher admitted he was "praying for rain" during tomorrow's race, believing that his Ferrari's Bridgestone "monsoon" tyres would be more competitive than their Michelin counterparts in such dire conditions.

"I think we would have needed a boat propeller to find our way round the track today," he said. "The forecast is for more rain and if that is the case on Sunday I can see us having to start the race behind the safety car. Maybe our fans have done too good a job with their rain dance."

Tyres are very much on the agenda here, with Michelin expected to announce today that it will reduce to five the number of teams it supplies in 2006. Toyota and Williams are expected to switch to Bridgestone next season but Red Bull, which will use Ferrari engines and had been expected to switch to Bridgestone, will remain on Michelin after all.