Belgium – Free Practice 1: Ferrari challenges Mercedes, Red Bull lags behind and McLaren in distress

At the start of the session, Nico Rosberg, Nico Hülkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo, and Carlos Sainz completed their out lap with their cars equipped with the Halo system. In the absence of a real test, Hülkenberg stated that the visibility factor is important on this circuit. It’s therefore a good place to check if the Halo significantly impairs the driver’s visibility. Similarly, an important element noted is that the system partially obstructs the air intake at the back of the car, which cools the engine. Therefore, it is currently impossible to cover many laps with this system.

After 15 minutes of sessions, the times are starting to drop. The first to set a time is Pascal Wehrlein and now 20 minutes into the session, 11 drivers have recorded a time. Notably, for the first time the Halo was tested in a fast lap, with Nico Rosberg taking on this challenge and currently holding the provisional best time of the session.

In the first third of the session, no incidents to report, only Max Verstappen had a slight scare exiting the Fagnes S at turn 13. He put his wheels on the astroturf and executed a well-controlled skid.

As expected, it is the Mercedes that monopolize the top two positions. Lewis Hamilton changed his engine, as did Nico Rosberg, but without penalty for the German. Behind them, we find the Force India and the Ferraris, while Ricciardo, Bottas, Gutierrez, and Verstappen complete the top 10.

McLaren arrived in Belgium with a major engine upgrade, focusing on the combustion chamber and the turbo. Button managed to complete a few laps and ranked 14th, but surprisingly, Alonso hasn’t set a time yet. Indeed, these engine changes require the team’s mechanics and engineers to work on the Spaniard’s car. Similarly, Button’s car is also undergoing maintenance.

At mid-session, there are few changes in the hierarchy, Bottas has moved to 5th place and the Ferraris have slightly dropped in the standings. Noteworthy is Esteban Ocon’s performance, currently two-tenths ahead of his teammate Pascal Wehrlein. Fernando Alonso has still not joined the track to set a time; his car continues to be dismantled in the McLaren garage.

In the intermediate times, Kimi Räikkönen holds the best time in sectors 1 and 3 while Nico Rosberg holds the time in sector 2. Another point to note, Pirelli is conducting full-scale tests for its tire prototypes. Notably, Sergio Pérez was seen using them to complete a few laps.

Last third of the Friday morning session, the Mercedes cars are untroubled and remain in the garage while Force India battles with Ferrari for the places behind the German team. Jolyon Palmer suffers a technical problem with his Renault, white flags are waved, and he returns to the pits slowly. On the French front, Esteban Ocon confirms his good start: he is currently in 15th place, behind Felipe Nasr. With a best time of 1’48″348, it is still Nico Rosberg leading this first session. For reference, Esteban Ocon is 3″914 slower than the German but 0″996 faster than his teammate.

Good news for McLaren, if we can say so, they are starting to reassemble Fernando Alonso’s MP4-31, but with ten minutes to go in the session, it’s hard to imagine McLaren sending their driver on track. Moreover, the Spaniard hasn’t really been spotted in his garage. Hopefully, we’ll see him this afternoon behind the wheel of his car number 14, equipped with the new Honda engine; for now, he is a spectator.

Only 3 minutes left before the end of the session, Romain Grosjean seems to be having some issues with his car, he went to visit the gravel trap between Stavelot and the Paul Frère turn at the bottom of the circuit.

End of the session, the standings changed little throughout, Mercedes demonstrates its superiority, even though on Hamilton’s side the engine and MGUH system have already been changed. Ferrari and Force India battle for the foot of the podium and Red Bull is close behind. Great performance from Sauber who bring a front wing that seems to be effective. The newcomer Esteban Ocon succeeded in his first session, despite a small error when entering the pits, he finishes more than a second ahead of Pascal Wehrlein.

See you this afternoon for the continuation of the festivities!