Belgian GP: Rosberg leads Mercedes 1-2 in first practice

Nico Rosberg

Nico Rosberg turned the fastest lap in first the practice for the Belgian Grand Prix despite missing a portion of the session due to technical issues.

The German, who comes into the weekend trailing Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton by 21 points, sat out the first-half of the FP1 session after his installation lap revealed a 'loss of drive', but he recovered to turn in the quickest lap of 1m 51.082s.

Rosberg was two tenths clear of Hamilton as Mercedes resumed their 1-2 positions at the head of the timesheets.

Last year's Belgian GP winner Daniel Ricciardo was third just five hundredths behind the defending champion as Adrian Newey's impact with Red Bull is clear as they inch closer to Mercedes each race.

Kimi Raikkonen turned in the fourth fastest time, four tenths off the top and ahead of Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel in fifth.

A strong start to the weekend for the Renault-powered contingent, Daniil Kvyat and the Toro Rossos of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz followed up in sixth, seventh and eighth respectively, with Force India's Sergio Perez and Williams' Valtteri Bottas completing the top ten.

Meanwhile, McLaren's upgraded Honda power unit left 16th and 18th quickest respectively.

Results