Hamilton leads the way on first day at Belgian GP before heavy afternoon downpour; Title leader Vettel only fifth but Mercedes still wary of Ferrari pace
Monday 28 August 2017 08:22, UK
Lewis Hamilton completed an impressive return to action after F1's summer holidays by setting the Practice Two pace at the Belgian GP.
Having declared on Thursday he was fired up to start reeling in Sebastian Vettel in the battle for 2017's world title, Hamilton was in imperious form at Spa-Francorchamps on Friday.
After running Kimi Raikkonen close in the morning session despite using Pirelli's slowest compound, Hamilton outpaced the Ferrari by 0.2s in the afternoon when the whole field ran the ultrasofts.
By contrast, Vettel was only fifth and finished nearly half a second adrift of the lead Mercedes' pace. But Toto Wolff suggested that the real competitive picture was not quite so clear cut.
"It's very close," the Mercedes boss told Sky Sports F1. "I think it's closer than you can see. Vettel did a fantastic long run, which was much faster than everyone else."
Raikkonen, the faster of the two Ferrari drivers on Friday, agreed: "I think we're closer than many other people think. For sure we can go faster, and then on Saturday afternoon we will see."
The notoriously fickle weather of the Ardennes region also had its say in second practice with a heavy downpour effectively washing out the final 20 minutes of running.
That meant teams' long-run simulations ahead of Sunday's race were curtailed, although forecasts for two days' time suggest there could be more wet weather on the way for the Grand Prix itself.
With Red Bull's drivers running different levels of rear wing, Max Verstappen's RB13 proved the quicker of the two and he was fourth behind Valtteri Bottas, who struggled to match Mercedes team-mate Hamilton throughout Friday.
Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was 0.9s slower in sixth place despite being the fastest of all in sectors one and three. But his 'skinny' Monza-spec rear wing was a handicap throughout Spa's twisty, aerodynamically-demanding middle sector and the Australian suggested his mechanics would have to find a compromise, or use the same wing as Verstappen, from Saturday onwards.
Renault enjoyed a strong opening day, with Nico Hulkenberg and Jolyon Palmer both in the top 10, while Fernando Alonso rebounded from a troubled morning to finish 11th for McLaren.
But Felipe Massa completed no running in second practice after the Williams chassis change required after his morning crash meant he was unable to return to action until Saturday.
