EL1: Rosberg in the lead at Spa, Alonso in the garage

Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) set the best time in the first practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix with a lap of Spa-Francorchamps completed in 1'48''348. The German who tested the Halo at the start of the session (like Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg et Carlos Sainz Jr) was ahead of his teammate by more than seven tenths Lewis Hamilton who will have to move back at least 15 places on the grid. The W07 Hybrids were the only ones to be shod with super soft tires.

With the soft rubbers, Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) ranked less than a tenth behind the three-time world champion by preceding Sergio Pérez (Force India) and Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari). THE Red Bull by Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen separated by less than a tenth finished ahead of Nico Hülkenberg (Force India) and Valtteri Bottas (Williams).

Esteban Gutierrez (Haas) completed the top ten more than two seconds behind the best time, ahead of his teammate by three tenths Romain Grosjean still struggling with his brakes at the start of the session.

Esteban Ocon (Manor) had a good start to the weekend by finishing 16th with more than a second ahead of his teammate Pascal Wehrlein.

While the Renault de Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer complete the timesheet, Fernando Alonso (McLaren) was unable to set a single timed time. The two-time world champion encountered a mechanical problem after just three rounds settling in.

The second practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix will be followed live from 14 p.m. on Canal+ Sport.

Results of FP1 of the Belgian Grand Prix