Belgium – Free Practice 1: Rosberg and Hamilton back to their usual ways

Only 13°C in the air and 18°C on the track with a humidity rate of 71%. The weather doesn’t lie, we are definitely at Spa-Francorchamps! The challenge for the drivers in this first practice session will be to adapt their single-seaters to the very fast track of Spa but also to regain some control of their car after almost a month off.

At the green light, there is a bit of laziness in the air among the drivers for their return. Nothing concrete from them, except for one or two installation laps each. It takes fifteen minutes for the drivers to get moving. Kevin Magnussen is the first to set a time with 1:53.405, followed by his teammate Button at 1:54.221. Nico Rosberg gets into action with an impressive time of 1:52.143, with the best times in the second and third sectors. Hamilton also marks his return, but slower than his teammate, at 1:53.555. Rosberg improves by half a second before Alonso’s Ferrari rushes in with the best times in the first and third sectors! The track is very cool, as evidenced by the slight off-track moments of Hamilton and Rosberg at the last chicane. It’s difficult to keep everything up to temperature!

After thirty minutes, Nico Rosberg leads the charge with a time of 1:51.724, ahead of Fernando Alonso at 1:51.937 and Valtteri Bottas at 1:53.172. Only Pastor Maldonado has yet to complete a timed lap. The « newbies » Alexander Rossi and André Lotterer are at a respectable distance from their respective teammates: four seconds for the American and one second and seven tenths for the German. Seven tenths separate the two rookies, with Lotterer having the edge. Pastor Maldonado finally takes to the track for a series of fast laps on his own on the circuit. 1:55.346 for the Venezuelan, three tenths ahead of Romain Grosjean. Provoked? The Frenchman leaves the Lotus garage and significantly improves his time, with a 1:53.597, entering the top 10 in ninth place.

After forty-five minutes, André Lotterer begins to find his rhythm. He improves his time and places just ahead of his teammate Marcus Ericsson. Just at that moment, the Swede spins at the La Source hairpin! Did he feel the pressure from his teammate? Hamilton is off, setting the fastest time in the second sector and then the overall best time at 1:51.674, only fifty-thousandths ahead of Rosberg! The battle between the two Mercedes is underway. The German is not far behind: a few minutes later, he moves ahead with less than a tenth of a second lead. 1:51.577. Vettel is struggling. A big slide at the Pouhon double left sequence. He announces on the radio that he’s having problems with his gearbox shifting.

After one hour, Nico Rosberg (1:51.577) is ahead of Lewis Hamilton (1:51.674) and Fernando Alonso (1:51.805). Button, Räikkönen, and Magnussen follow in the standings. There is improvement on Alexander Rossi’s side, who will ultimately not race this weekend, as Chilton’s sponsors paid in time. The American is getting closer to a second and four-tenths from Bianchi, a breath away from Van der Garde, who is stepping in this Friday morning for Sauber. The Dutchman improves to 1:54.768, five-tenths behind his teammate Adrian Sutil. The top drivers seem to be engaging in long stints, with a lot of fuel to finish.

Unchanged leading trio at the end of the session with Nico Rosberg ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. The German sets the fastest time without having a single fastest sector. Button, Hamilton, and Alonso are the quickest each in one of the three parts of the circuit.

From our special correspondent in Spa-Francorchamps