It was the question everyone was asking before the session began: how good are the Michelin wets going to be in comparison to Bridgestone's? The answer came pretty rapidly, but more than anything, we had a Ferrari that was substantially quicker than anything else - until Michael slid off the circuit in it.

But all the Michelin runners are talking about their tyres and their tyres in comparison to the other manufacturer's tyres. It may be a boring subject, but it's a pretty important one when you're being seriously held up by them.

What made things even more precarious was that there seemed very little improvement when the track dried out and drivers tried intermediate tyres. Not surprisingly, everyone hoped and expected the track to be quicker, but that didn't really seem to be the case. Michelin's Pierre Dupasquier put down Ferrari's pace to the fact that they test a lot in the wet, suggesting perhaps they can get up to speed quicker than other teams.

Whatever, he wasn't that unhappy with today's pace, even though the first three cars are Bridgestone-shod. He did, however, agree that his teams weren't quite at Ferrari's level - but only Ferrari!

But Bridgestone's level is reflected by the presence of Frentzen in sixth place, Massa in eighth and by the fact that Montoya and Ralf Schumacher are back in ninth and tenth places. Look in Car by Car and you will find that Ralf Schumacher had a lot of spins. And finally, see where the Toyotas are: they've been very competitive on Fridays at most races this year, but not here.

Off track, there is much to occupy the mind as well. Tomorrow, Max Mosley gives a birthday press conference, which we shall be covering. The manufacturers are also meeting here - although whether we get anything out of them remains to be seen.

And then we have the prospect of more rain, tomorrow particularly, but also if less on Sunday. It's a shame for the many foreigners who have eagerly come to see the first European Grand Prix of the year, because it's pretty soggy and they weren't expecting it. But it certainly could create a lively race!

Bob Constanduros