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Formula 1 Belgian GP

2014 Belgian Grand Prix Friday - Practice

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Stopwatch
And Button goes quickest. Personal bests in S2 and S3 send him to the top with a 1m52.285s.
Button with a fastest first sector.
Perez is told some rather elementary stuff: "Tyre temperatures and pressures will be low, so will not be ready for the first timed lap."
Vettel topped the second practice session here last year, but won't be able to manage a single lap this afternoon with his car still in pieces in the garage.
Magnussen, Button, Perez, Gutierrez and Sutil waste no time getting back into it.
Green flag
We're back underway at Spa.
Ericsson is told to "avoid the white foam" after Maldonado destroyed a polystyrene sponsor board. The Lotus driver's car is now being returned to the pitlane on the back of a truck.
The session has been stopped with just three timed laps on the board. Magnussen is quickest with a 1m52.677s, Bianchi is second with a 1m54.509s (1.2s faster than he was this morning), and Lotterer third with a 1m56.720s (1.1s faster than this morning).
Maldonado's shunt means his session is over, as Christian Horner confirms that Vettel will not run at all in FP2.
"Are you OK, Pastor?" he's asked over the radio. He sheepishly responds that he is fine.
Red flag
Session has been officially stopped after Maldonado's massive shunt. Replays show he lost the Lotus on the way down to Pouhon after taking to the grass.
Stopwatch
And, just like this morning, it's Magnussen with the first flying lap of the day. He's fastest with a 1m52.677s.
Crash
Maldonado has hit the barriers on the entry to Pouhon.
Magnussen, Lotterer, Bianchi, Maldonado, Kvyat, Ercisson, Hulkenberg, Button, Perez and Raikkonen all on-track.
Sebastian Vettel is not expected to compete in this session after his engine problems in first practice earlier today.

Losing 90 minutes running will be a blow for the reigning champion, who is already behind his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in the standings.
Fresh from his announcement as a Toro Rosso driver for 2015, Max Verstappen is in attendance this weekend.

The Dutch driver has been spotted around the paddock this weekend and been conducting media interviews.
Chilton was told: "In now, Max. In now, Max. We need to investigate a turbo problem."
It's just an instillation lap, though. He's straight back in the pits.
We have a car on-track, and it's the comeback kid himself, Max Chilton.
Green flag
The session is running, even if none of the cars are.
Joining Chilton on the newcomers list for this session is Esteban Gutierrez, the Sauber driver having sat out FP1 for Giedo van der Garde.
We should see some soft tyre running this afternoon as well, after this morning was all medium running.
There's a few clouds around Spa, but it's dry at the moment. Caterham's announcement about Lotterer joining the team did mention his prowess in mixed conditions, so they'll be hoping for rain, one would imagine.
Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were (unsurprisingly) quickest in this morning's first session. Will we see more of the same in this session? Or can someone spring a surprise and out-pace the Mercs?

At the other end of the grid, will we see Andre Lotterer be the quickest of the Caterhams again? Or can Marcus Ericsson fight back?

And the biggest question – how will Max Chilton do in his 'comeback' to F1 (after that 90-minute break he took earlier today)?
A warm welcome back, as we look ahead to the second free practice session of the weekend. We have another 90 minutes of running kicking off in just under 10 minutes.
We will be back for FP2 this afternoon at 1.00pm UK time. In the meantime, our sister service Race Centre Live is about to begin its live coverage of GP2 practice.

You can also find out what is going on in Rally Germany as well - can Volkswagen win its home event for the first time this weekend?


Here's our comprehensive report from FP1, with Rosberg beating Hamilton to top spot in the opening session at the Belgian Grand Prix:

Rosberg quickest in opening practice session
And Alex Rossi was 20th in what, it turns out, will be his only appearance for the weekend. Max Chilton will be back in the car for FP2.
At the back end of the field, first-timer Andre Lotterer managed to out-pace his new team-mate Marcus Ericsson. The Caterham pair finished 21st and 22nd respectively.
No surprises with Mercedes and Ferrari leading the way. Positive morning for McLaren as well, with Button fourth and Magnussen seventh.
Not only did Rosberg set the pace, but he also had the most productive morning as well with 25 laps under his belt.
Here's how everyone stacked up in that first session:

1 Rosberg
2 Hamilton
3 Alonso
4 Button
5 Raikkonen
6 Perez
7 Magnussen
8 Hulkenberg
9 Ricciardo
10 Bottas
11 Vettel
12 Kvyat
13 Grosjean
14 Sutil
15 Massa
16 Vergne
17 Van der Garde
18 Maldonado
19 Bianchi
20 Rossi
21 Lotterer
22 Ericsson
With the Marussia Chilton/Rossi swap and re-swap situation the talk of the paddock this morning, JONATHAN NOBLE is heading for Marussia to find out more from the team chiefs.
Checkered flag
The chequered flag is out. Last lap for anyone out there.
Sutil makes one last improvement, moving from 15th to 14th with a 1m53.703s.
Red Bull has confirmed Vettel's issue is a burnt exhaust.
Alonso emerges from the pits for one last go at the Mercedes.
Nothing too much changing in terms of positions as the session winds down.
Kvyat on the radio: "The brake efficiency at Turn 5 on the previous lap was very poor. I couldn't stop."
Vettel is out of the car and has ended his running for FP1 with an engine issue.

By: Dan Cross, Andrew van Leeuwen, AUTOSPORT staff, Matt Beer, Pablo Elizalde

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