More woe for Kimi as Massa and Alonso star

Kimi Raikkonen's faltering defence of the world championship took another knock today when he crashed his Ferrari during the second practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.

Raikkonen, beaten into second place by team-mate Felipe Massa in the opening session, was looking to stamp his authority at a circuit where he has won the last three Formula One races when his car snapped sideways in the rain.

There was hardly any run-off area at the swooping downhill left-hand corner and the Finn was helpless to prevent his Ferrari smashing backwards into a tyre barrier.

The incident ripped off the rear wing and meant Raikkonen, 13 points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton and without a win since the Spanish Grand Prix in April, was unable to improve on his fifth fastest.

Times were relatively meaningless in the afternoon rain squalls.

Fernando Alonso survived a wild moment over a kerb to top the time sheets in his Renault but he was more than one second slower than Massa had managed in the drier morning session. Hamilton was fourth in the afternoon, beaten by Alonso, Massa and McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen.

The rain caused plenty of drama. with Mark Webber first to go off when the Australian braked too late for the right-handed Les Combes corner. His Red Bull careered over the gravel and hit the barrier hard enough to remove a front wheel.