Belgian GP: Nico Rosberg leads Lewis Hamilton in first Spa practice
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg set the fastest time in the opening Formula 1 practice session for this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix
The German overcame early problems with his car to record the quickest lap ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton by 0.242 seconds.
Daniel Ricciardo was third fastest in his Red Bull, ahead of the two Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel.
Sixth at the end of the 90 minute morning session, held in dry, sunny conditions, was Danill Kvyat in the second Red Bull - just 0.878s behind first-placed Rosberg - and ahead of the two Toro Rosso machines of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr.
Sergio Perez was ninth in his Force India, while the two Williams of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa ended practice one in 10th and 14th place respectively.
The session was red-flagged after 50 minutes when Pastor Maldonado spun exiting the right-hander at Turn 7.
He lost the rear of his Lotus at the right-hander coming out of Les Combes and crossed the circuit smashing the right-front off his car, thereby bringing the session to a halt for 10 minutes while the marshals repaired the tyre barriers.
He finished with the 11th-quickest time.
There was concern for world championship contender Rosberg at the beginning of the session, as he appeared to lose drive entering Blanchimont.
He retuned to the pits where his mechanics investigated the problem with the engine on his Mercedes and half an hour later he was back on track with the issues seemingly resolved.
Briton Jolyon Palmer was the only reserve driving running this morning and took over Romain Grosjean's Lotus seat for the opening session, recording the 17th fastest time.
The two McLaren-Hondas of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button finished down the order in 16th and 18th.
PRACTICE ONE TIMES:
| Pos | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1m51.082s | - | 19 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1m51.324s | 0.242s | 24 |
| 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/Renault | 1m51.373s | 0.291s | 18 |
| 4 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1m51.478s | 0.396s | 23 |
| 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1m51.866s | 0.784s | 21 |
| 6 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull/Renault | 1m51.960s | 0.878s | 18 |
| 7 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso/Renault | 1m52.158s | 1.076s | 27 |
| 8 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Toro Rosso/Renault | 1m52.421s | 1.339s | 26 |
| 9 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 1m52.423s | 1.341s | 20 |
| 10 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams/Mercedes | 1m52.511s | 1.429s | 19 |
| 11 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus/Mercedes | 1m52.539s | 1.457s | 15 |
| 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India/Mercedes | 1m52.614s | 1.532s | 20 |
| 13 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m52.640s | 1.558s | 16 |
| 14 | Felipe Massa | Williams/Mercedes | 1m52.653s | 1.571s | 22 |
| 15 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m53.426s | 2.344s | 16 |
| 16 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren/Honda | 1m53.502s | 2.420s | 15 |
| 17 | Jolyon Palmer | Lotus/Mercedes | 1m53.799s | 2.717s | 23 |
| 18 | Jenson Button | McLaren/Honda | 1m54.225s | 3.143s | 14 |
| 19 | Will Stevens | Marussia/Ferrari | 1m55.501s | 4.419s | 16 |
| 20 | Roberto Merhi | Marussia/Ferrari | 1m56.086s | 5.004s | 17 |
Previous article
Who does Fernando Alonso think he is?
Next article
Belgian GP: Mercedes' Nico Rosberg tops practice before tyre blows
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Drivers | Nico Rosberg , Lewis Hamilton |
| Author | James Roberts |
Why McLaren doesn’t doubt Ricciardo can escape his ‘dark’ place
Three points finishes from as many starts represents a decent opening innings on paper, but Daniel Ricciardo has endured a tough start to his McLaren career - only magnified his team-mate's excellent form. Yet both he and the team have good reason to expect a turnaround soon
What needs to “change” for Red Bull is ending Verstappen’s errors
OPINION: Going up against the dominant force of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton was always going to demand the best from Red Bull and Max Verstappen. But after making a couple more errors during the Portuguese Grand Prix, the Dutch driver showed there's a small gap he still needs to close in the 2021 Formula 1 title fight
The "subtle" Red Bull upgrades that kept it in the Portugal F1 mix
Red Bull's Portuguese Grand Prix fortunes were decidedly second best to Mercedes', but the result skews the potential that the team had at Portimao. With a new set of updates, the team looks good going forward into the rest of 2021's spicy F1 competition
Portuguese Grand Prix Driver Ratings
The 2021 Portuguese GP will for several drivers go down as a weekend of missed opportunities amid imperfect track conditions that caused struggles with tyre warmup. But the performances of a select few stood out from the crowd
How Hamilton took a “completely different journey” to Portugal victory
Just as he did in 2020, Lewis Hamilton had to come from behind to win the 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix. Only this time there were two rivals he had to pass, among the several challenges he had to overcome, on his way to securing a 97th grand prix victory
The ‘big fish’ mentality that kept an Australian legend winning
Frank Gardner was the veteran of just eight grand prix starts. It could have been more, but why waste his talent if the cars weren't up to it? NIGEL ROEBUCK recalls the life of one of racing's great characters
Why Todt’s FIA successor could be cut from the same cloth
Jean Todt has signalled that he will not stand for re-election as FIA president. MARK GALLAGHER analyses the strong credentials of one potential successor…
The data that leaves both Red Bull and Mercedes uncertain of supremacy at Portimao
Lewis Hamilton topped the crucial FP2 session on Friday as F1 returned to Portugal, but his Mercedes team cannot be sure it has the edge on its Red Bull rivals. As cool temperatures and wind combine with the still-slippery surface to present drivers with quandaries over set-up and tyre warmup, there's still everything to play for come qualifying
