Valtteri Bottas recovered from his accident at the Hungarian GP to set the pace in the opening practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.
Formula 1 returned to the circuit on a cold and damp circuit from Spa-Francorchamps, on which some drivers, surprisingly, given the very low climate of Spa itself, had never experienced the Belgian circuit in a Formula 1 car in the wet. That should change.
The two Ferraris and Mick Schumacher were the first drivers and quickly discovered that some parts of the 7 km long route were wet, but others were bone dry.
“I’m not sure if it’s wet enough for Inter.”
Mick’s first take on the track conditions after his installation lap. # HaasF1 #BelgianGP # FP1 pic.twitter.com/cXUswQunRB
– Haas F1-Team (@ HaasF1Team) August 27, 2021
After 14 minutes of individual laps, McLaren’s Lando Norris drove a 1: 50.191 on the medium-sized Pirellis. That sparked a spate of activity as Sebastian Vettel turned purple, a 1: 49.324, and Kimi Riakkonen from La Sources was filming. Yuki Tsunoda also spun and blocked Sergio Perez when he came to a stop at the exit of the pit lane.
When the track dried up and the drivers found their hold, the P1 time crashed with Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Vettel again and then Esteban Ocon to the top, a 1: 47.250 for the latest race winner in F1. George Russell wasn’t too impressed with Lance Stroll as the Aston Martin driver handicapped him on a hot lap.
Max Verstappen, who ran the tough Pirellis, set the pace in the middle of the one-hour training session, a 1: 46.879. The Red Bull driver, who used a thin rear wing, reduced his benchmark time to 1: 46.423 and backed away in the last sector due to yellow flags at the pit lane entrance. These yellows were caused by Raikkonen, who hit the concrete wall on his return to the box.
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Raikkonen crashes into the wall when he enters the pit lane
Not the best way to start the Finn weekend! #BelgianGP 
# F1 pic.twitter.com/jOuHyYBLBe
– Formula 1 (@ F1) August 27, 2021
Verstappen was even faster at 1: 45.905 when his teammate Sergio Perez moved up to second place, 1.262 seconds behind, while Hamilton, who was in P3, fell back to 14th. In contrast to Verstappen, Mercedes opted for a larger rear wing with high downforce for the championship leader.
With 20 minutes left in the session and rain forecasts for the afternoon, the riders began to switch to the soft Pirellis, with Bottas taking the lead with a 1.45.199. The Finn drove a setup with low downforce.
Verstappen responded with a 1: 45.363 when a few raindrops began to fall. Hamilton could not react, hampered by Nicholas Latifi’s Williams. Charles Leclerc’s efforts were thwarted by a drive through the gravel at Turn 7, which had also thrown a pile of stones on the track.
Bottas was the fastest of all with 0.164 seconds ahead of Verstappen, Pierre Gasly was third. Hamilton was in 18th place, only the Haas rookies behind him.
Times
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1: 47.854 17 laps
2 Max. Verstappen Red Bull 0.164s 14 laps
3 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 0.500s 19 laps
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 0.619s 18 laps
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 0.736s 19 laps
6 Sergio Perez Red Bull 0.928s 17 laps
7 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 0.978s 17 laps
8 Country Norris McLaren 1,137s 15 laps
9 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1.298s 16 laps
10 Fernando Alonso Alpine 1.413s 16 laps
11 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1,450s 18 laps
12 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 1,484s 18 laps
13 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 1.556s 17 laps
14 George Russell Williams 1.573s 17 laps
15 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1.729s 19 laps
16 Nicholas Latifi Williams 1.902s 18 laps
17 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing 2.926s 15 laps
18 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 3.025s 16 laps
19 Mick Schumacher Haas 3,860s 15 laps
20 Nikita Mazepin Haas 4,736s 14 rounds
