BELGIAN GP – Valtteri Bottas fastest by a tenth and a half ahead of Max Verstappen in FP1
Valtteri Bottas was fastest in first practice for the Belgian Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver set a 45.199 on the soft tyre which put him over a tenth faster than the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. This weekend is set to be another battle between Mercedes and Red Bull as the season resumes following the summer break.
The Dutchman set his fastest times midway through the session before working his way down to a 45.3 by the end of the session. Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly was third going three and a half tenths behind the sister car of Verstappen.
The session could be the only chance of dry running this weekend with the forecast for wet conditions for the remainder of the weekend, but while the rain appeared to linger there was no significant threat of rain in the session.
This meant that there was no early scramble to get out of the pits, with the majority of the field waiting a few minutes before emerging to undertake several slow and untimed laps on the intermediates. The early times being ten seconds slower than last year.
Ferrari made a strong start to the weekend once again underlining the step forwards they have made, Charles Leclerc going fourth fastest six tenths off the outright pace after going just under two tenths faster than his teammate Carlos Sainz. Sergio Perez setting a 46.1 going sixth fastest going five-hundredths faster than Sebastian Vettel.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton had a low key session he struggled to find a gap to complete a flying lap. When the seven-times champion made his final attempt at the end of the session he had to back out of his fastest lap after getting caught behind the Williams of Nicolas Latifi at Pouhon.
Latifi holding the racing line, likely unaware Hamilton had closed in with a tow throughout the final sector, the Mercedes had to go left and back off on the outside line, which meant Hamilton did not improve his personal best and remained well down the order.
Hamilton, who is eight points clear of Verstappen in the championship, was on course to beat Bottas’ time but had to back out of his lap and did not try for another one.
Sebastian Vettel was seventh going a tenth and half ahead of the McLaren of Lando Norris, they were the first two drivers to set times on the mediums. But conditions remained slippery, as Kimi Raikkonen and Yuki Tsunoda spinning at the exit of La Source as they started their first lap on slicks.
The Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri drivers looping around as they put the power down exiting the tight right-hander and spinning off backwards and then into the exit runoff and pitlane exit respectively in separate incidents.
The two Alpine’s rounded out the top ten, Esteban Ocon setting a 46.4 going a tenth and a quarter ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso. Lance Stroll put his Aston Martin twelfth going three-hundredths ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, with Antonio Giovinazzi just under two hundredths ahead of George Russell.
Yuki Tsunoda spilt the two Williams the second Alpha Tauri going over a tenth and a half ahead of Kimi Raikkonen. Hamilton ending the session eighteenth, ahead of the two Haas’s with Mick Schumacher three tenths ahead of teammate Nikita Mazepin.