Free Practice 1 – Belgium: Nico Rosberg ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Pastor Maldonado in the wall

It’s a bright sun that welcomes F1 for the first free practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix. The conditions are perfect with 19°C in the air and 21°C on the track. Once again, Jolyon Palmer is at the wheel of Romain Grosjean’s Lotus. It’s the only change from the usual lineup.

Off the track, we can note a little jab from Giedo van der Garde, who is present this weekend, towards Sauber, following the infamous Melbourne episode.

On my way to Spa. First time to the F1 paddock since Melbourne. Don’t panic @SauberF1Team, I only got some meetings. pic.twitter.com/Q1PvNmyGLs

— Giedo van der Garde (@GvanderGarde) 21 Août 2015

The drivers are all taking advantage of the beautiful conditions to complete a reconnaissance lap before heading back to the pits. However, it takes a good fifteen minutes before the first times are recorded. Unsurprisingly, it’s Lewis Hamilton who directly takes the lead with a time of 1:52.192, nearly three-tenths better than Daniel Ricciardo. The Brit doesn’t stop there and then breaks the 1:52 barrier with a lap time of 1:51.993.

For his teammate, Nico Rosberg, things are not going ideally as he reports to his teammate that he has lost power when shifting gears. He is therefore the only one staying in the pits while the other cars continue to lap. Mercedes chooses to downplay the situation by simply stating that the German’s car hasn’t completely woken up after the holidays:

But it’s back to base for @nico_rosberg: his beast hasn’t quite awoken from the summer slumber it seems… #F1 https://t.co/EwJhKdPWkK

— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) 21 Août 2015

Lewis Hamilton improves again with 1:51:340, which puts him just one second ahead of the rest of the field. More importantly, it’s already faster than the best time from last year’s first free practice, demonstrating the progress made in one year.

After half an hour of the session, the top 10 is Hamilton, Ricciardo, Kvyat, Nasr, Räikkönen, Hülkenberg, Vettel, Verstappen, Perez, and Massa. This signals all the drivers to return to their pits. This will allow Jenson Button’s mechanics to focus on his McLaren as he complains about heat on the left side. This does not bode well, especially since he already has a new engine for this weekend. At Red Bull, the break is extended as Daniel Ricciardo gets out of his car and engages in a lengthy discussion with Helmut Marko. Similarly, at McLaren, both drivers are at the back of the garage, with Jenson Button taking the time to sip a coffee.

Pastor Maldonado is the first to break the silence that had fallen over the Ardennes circuit, followed by his predecessor at Lotus, Kimi Räikkönen. The Ferrari driver significantly improves as he moves into second position. With a time of 1:51.478, he is only a tenth behind Lewis Hamilton.

At the end of 45 minutes, Nico Rosberg is able to return to the track, but he doesn’t have time to set a timed lap because Pastor Maldonado has once again had an accident, oversteering at the exit of turn 7. While the Lotus is indeed damaged at the front, the Venezuelan is unhurt. This causes a temporary interruption of the session, with a red flag.

RED FLAG: @Pastormaldo slides into the barrier. “Is the car damaged?” ask Lotus. “Yep, yep” #FP1 #BelgianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/RsVAYuVwi6

— Formula 1 (@F1) 21 Août 2015

The interruption of the session only lasted ten minutes and Nico Rosberg is the first to present himself at the exit of the pit lane to make up for his lost time at the beginning of the session. Most of the other drivers follow the example of the World Championship runner-up. Meanwhile, the McLaren team continues to be busy, this time with Fernando Alonso’s car.

After an hour, the top 10 is thus Hamilton, Räikkönen, Ricciardo, Sainz, Kvyat, Maldonado, Nasr, Hülkenberg, Vettel.

For his first timed lap, Nico Rosberg doesn’t do things halfway as he immediately sets the fastest time, at 1:51.200, which is 124 thousandths better than Lewis Hamilton. Daniel Ricciardo also improves his best time, at 1:51.373, placing him third. Sebastian Vettel is also improving, with a 1:51.866, marking the fifth fastest lap of the day.

Roberto Mehri spins harmlessly at turn 18. He can continue without damage. As for Fernando Alonso, he is able to return to the track even though he only achieved the 18th fastest time of the session. He is half a second behind his teammate, Jenson Button. However, he is in a position to significantly improve. Nevertheless, his 1:53:502 is only the 14th fastest time of the day, nearly 2.5 seconds behind the best time, which is further improved by Nico Rosberg (1:51:082).

Fifteen minutes before the end of the session, we find the two Mercedes, ahead of Ricciardo, Räikkönen, Vettel, Kvyat, Verstappen, Sainz, Perez, and Maldonado.

Marcus Ericsson is having problems with his Sauber as he was only able to complete nine laps and is nearly a second behind his teammate, Felipe Nasr. Yet, Sauber is benefiting this weekend from the upgraded version of the Ferrari engine.

For the end of the session, most of the drivers are no longer trying to improve their times but are doing long stints to prepare for the race, notably the Toro Rossos, each doing a stint of thirteen laps. Nevertheless, Max Verstappen reports that the traction of his car is deteriorating with each lap due to tire wear.

At Lotus, repairs have started on Pastor Maldonado’s car to allow him to be present from the start of the second session this afternoon.

The final top 10 of the session is therefore Rosberg, Hamilton, Ricciardo, Räikkönen, Vettel, Kvyat, Verstappen, Sainz, Perez, and Maldonado.

From our special correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps