Full results from Free Practice 2 for the Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, round 13 of the 2018 Formula 1 season.<doc-sep>Last updated on .From the section Formula 1 Follow live audio and text commentary of the second practice session on the BBC Sport website from 13:30 BST Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time in first practice at the Belgian Grand Prix as the Formula 1 season restarted after its summer break. The Ferrari driver headed Red Bull's Max Verstappen and championship leader Lewis Hamilton, whose Mercedes was 0.318 seconds off Vettel's pace. Hamilton leads Vettel by 24 points with nine races left. Hamilton's team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who was fifth, will start from the back because of engine penalties. Mick Schumacher - My dad is my idol Both Mercedes drivers have new, upgraded engines for this weekend and that has taken the Finn over the permitted number of some parts for the season. Mercedes will expect him to be able to fight through the field into a strong points position on a track on which it is relatively easy to overtake. Renault's Nico Hulkenberg will also start from the back for the same reason. Ferrari also have their final, upgraded new-spec engine in both cars this weekend. It was a relatively uneventful session, although Verstappen ran wide through the ultra-fast double-left Pouhon corner towards the end of the session, without causing any damage. Behind Hamilton, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, the early pace-setter in the session on a track where he always goes well, was fourth, ahead of Bottas and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who managed only one flying lap at the end of the session as a result of engine injector problems. Further back, Lando Norris made an apparently accomplished race weekend debut for McLaren, driving Fernando Alonso's car for this first session. The 18-year-old Briton had an incident-free session on his way to 18th fastest time on the slowest medium tyre, just under 0.1secs quicker than team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne on the faster soft. At 7.004km long, Spa is the longest current F1 circuit However, McLaren's hopes of forming an impression of their relative pace - as they assess who to employ as their second driver following the signing of Carlos Sainz to replace Alonso next season - were dashed because Vandoorne had a session troubled by technical problems. McLaren sporting director Gil de Ferran said: "We have been investing in Lando for a fair few years and we are trying to give him as much exposure as possible. "This is an opportunity for him to drive on a grand prix weekend, with a lot more people on the track, a lot of track evolution and a completely different downforce level. We keep walking the development road." Esteban Ocon, driving for a Force India team under new ownership after being rescued from administration earlier this month, was best of the rest in seventh. Hulkenberg, the second Force India of Sergio Perez and Sainz completed the top 10.<doc-sep>Full results from Free Practice 3 for the Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, round 13 of the 2018 Formula 1 season.<doc-sep>Sebastian Vettel drives during the first practice session at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. SEBASTIAN Vettel edged out Max Verstappen in first practice at the Belgian GP as F1 returned to the track following the sport’s unexpectedly eventful summer break. On the morning title rivals Ferrari and Mercedes introduced upgraded engines, Vettel topped a Practice One session for the first time this season with a best lap of 1:44.358 to give the Scuderia the perfect start to a Spa weekend Sky F1’s Martin Brundle has labelled a “must-win” event for the team. Get 3 months free Sport HD + Entertainment on a 12 month plan and watch the FIA Formula One 2018 Johnnie Walker Belgian Grand Prix Live & Exclusive with no ad-breaks during racing on FOX SPORTS. T&Cs apply. SIGN UP NOW > TV GUIDE: Watch the Formula 1 Belgian GP LIVE on FOX SPORTS FACE THE PRESS: Ricciardo reveals truths behind his shock Red Bull exit Ferrari and Mercedes are expected to fight it out for top honours on a circuit that heavily rewards engine power but Red Bull’s Verstappen was second-quickest on Friday morning ahead of championship leader Lewis Hamilton in the lead W09. Sebastian Vettel gets ready in the pits before the first practice session. Source: AFP “Ferrari were right on it but Mercedes are right there too,” said Brundle. Hamilton was three tenths back on Vettel and just ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and the other Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas. Bottas’ weekend, however, has already been compromised by a big engine penalty for exceeding power unit limits for the season. After stunning the sport with news of his 2019 Renault move during the summer break, Daniel Ricciardo made a low-key return to action for Red Bull as engine problems restricted his mileage to one timed lap at the end of the session. “It looks like a fuel injection issue,” said Christian Horner to Sky F1. Fernando Alonso, who is quitting the sport at the end of the year, sat out the opening session while McLaren trialed British youngster Lando Norris as they continue to evaluate their options for next season. Daniel Ricciardo made a low-key return to action for Red Bull. Source: AFP The 18-year-old enjoyed an accomplished F1 practice debut and finished fractionally faster than team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne on slower tyres, although the Belgian’s session was beset by reliability problems on his MCL33 and he finished slowest of all. Meanwhile, although technically a ‘new’ team, Force India returned to the circuit for the first time since the outfit’s change in ownership and enjoyed an encouraging start to the weekend, with Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez seventh and ninth-fastest respectively. Force India and Williams are also running Mercedes’ new ‘Spec Three’ engine this weekend. Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg was ninth, but he will join Bottas in starting Sunday’s race from the back of the field after also exceeding engine allowances for the season. Belgian GP Practice One Timesheet Driver — Team — Tyres — Time Sebastian Vettel — Ferrari — Softs — 1:44.358 Max Verstappen — Red Bull — Softs — + 0.151 Lewis Hamilton — Mercedes — Softs — + 0.318 Kimi Raikkonen — Ferrari — Softs — + 0.360 Valtteri Bottas — Mercedes — Mediums — + 0.366 Daniel Ricciardo — Red Bull — Supersofts — + 1.200 Esteban Ocon — Force India — Supersofts — + 1.428 Nico Hulkenberg — Renault — Supersofts — + 1.593 Sergio Perez — Force India — Supersofts — + 1.811 Carlos Sainz — Renault — Supersofts — + 1.852 Pierre Gasly — Toro Rosso — Softs — + 1.942 Romain Grosjean — Haas — Supersofts — + 2.029 Charles Leclerc — Sauber — Supersofts — + 2.196 Marcus Ericsson — Sauber — Supersofts — + 2.199 Brendon Hartley — Toro Rosso — Softs — + 2.574 Lance Stroll — Williams — Supersofts — + 2.607 Kevin Magnussen — Haas — Supersofts — + 2.654 Lando Norris — McLaren — Mediums — + 3.006 Sergey Sirotkin — Williams — Supersofts — + 3.009 Stoffel Vandoorne — McLaren — Softs — + 3.094 This article originally appeared on Sky Sports<doc-sep>
Sebastian Vettel led a Ferrari 1-2 in the third practice session for the Belgian GP. SEBASTIAN Vettel headed an impressive Ferrari one-two in final practice at the Belgian GP as the championship chasers continued to outpace title leaders Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari have now headed all three practice sessions at an event for the first time this season and, while their P3 margin over Mercedes was a mere 0.137s over the season’s longest lap, they appear the team to beat heading into qualifying. Get 3 months free Sport HD + Entertainment on a 12 month plan and watch the FIA Formula One 2018 Johnnie Walker Belgian Grand Prix Live & Exclusive with no ad-breaks during racing on FOX SPORTS. T&Cs apply. SIGN UP NOW > TV GUIDE: Watch the Formula 1 Belgian GP LIVE on FOX SPORTS FACE THE PRESS: Ricciardo reveals truths behind his shock Red Bull exit Friday pacesetter Kimi Raikkonen had proved the quicker of the Ferraris for much of P3, but Vettel edged ahead by 0.063 with a new fastest lap of the weekend - 1:42.661. Hamilton, who leads Vettel by 24 points and won at Spa last year, was third and still appears in the hunt to battle the Ferraris for pole. Further comparisons at the end of the season were scuppered by a red-flag when Stoffel Vandoorne spun into the barriers on the Kemmel Straight after attempting to overtake the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas. The McLaren was much faster than the Mercedes into the straight, but Bottas took the normal racing line just as Vandoorne was attempting to overtake on the outside and the McLaren ran onto the grass and spun across the circuit. “What the hell was that Mercedes doing?” said Vandoorne. “He pushed me onto the grass?” Bottas said over the radio: “Okay, I didn’t see him.” Vandoorne, who brushed the barriers, had been attempting to follow team-mate Fernando Alonso, who was ahead of Bottas, with McLaren practising tows during P3 in an attempt to find more straight-line speed. The stewards are investigating the incident after the session. Bottas, who was fourth fastest, is starting at the back of the field owing to engine penalties. Meanwhile, Red Bull lapped closer to the pace of the midfield runners than Ferrari and Mercedes with Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo 1.4s and 1.8s off the leading pace respectively. The impressive Charles Leclerc was seventh for Sauber ahead of the Force Indias and Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, who also has an engine penalty and will start on the back row next to Bottas. This article originally appeared on Sky Sports