Rosberg over Hamilton in Spa first practice

Not only did Nico Rosberg set the pace and beat his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in opening practice for the Belgian GP at Spa, but he also had the most productive morning as well with 25 laps under his belt.

Fernando Alonso was 3rd for Ferrari ahead of Jenson Button in another Mercedes powered car.

Kimi Raikkonen rounded out the top-5 in the 2nd Ferrari.

Meanwhile Red Bull has confirmed the lemon car they provide Sebastian Vettel to ensure he does not win a 5th straight title had a burnt exhaust and he will take a grid penalty with his 6th engine change so early in the season.

American Alexander Rossi got to help clean the track Friday morning in his first outing ever for Marussia was 20th, over a second slower than his teammate, but not bad for his first time ever in the car and with zero preparation.

Results

Pos Driver Team Time Behind Laps
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m51.577s +0.000s 25
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m51.674s +0.097s 24
3 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m51.805s +0.228s 16
4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m52.404s +0.827s 21
5 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m52.818s +1.241s 17
6 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1m52.903s +1.326s 24
7 Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 1m52.922s +1.345s 23
8 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m52.937s +1.360s 22
9 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1m52.972s +1.395s 19
10 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1m53.172s +1.595s 20
11 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m53.369s +1.792s 11
12 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault 1m53.594s +2.017s 21
13 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m53.597s +2.020s 20
14 Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1m53.703s +2.126s 14
15 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1m53.968s +2.391s 20
16 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault 1m54.189s +2.612s 20
17 Giedo van der Garde Sauber-Ferrari 1m54.335s +2.758s 16
18 Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 1m55.336s +3.759s 21
19 Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1m55.782s +4.205s 19
20 Alexander Rossi Marussia-Ferrari 1m57.232s +5.655s 20
21 Andre Lotterer Caterham-Renault 1m57.886s +6.309s 24
22 Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 1m57.977s +6.400s 24