Sebastian Vettel sat out morning practice entirely at wet Spa-Francorchamps on Friday, as Red Bull saved mileage on the last two fresh Renault engines in his 2009 armoury.
"He'll be having an extended coffee break this morning. We're trying to avoid the ninth engine," his boss Christian Horner, referring to the prospect of ten-grid penalties, said on BBC radio during the session.
Vettel's teammate Mark Webber was just seventeenth quickest after a short programme of 6 laps, but the energy drink-owned team is nonetheless expected to dominate this weekend.
Like Vettel, world champion Lewis Hamilton also did not set a lap time in the rainy conditions.
