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F1 2017: Belgian Gp First Practice Report – Raikkonen On Top

Kimi Raikkonen at the Hungarian GP qualifying

Kimi Raikkonen topped the first free practice session in his Ferrari ahead of Sunday’s Belgian grand prix.

Formula 1 resumed after a month long shut down with a 90 minute practice session around the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit. It was Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen who topped the session with a quickest lap time of 1:45:502 set on the Ultrasoft compound tyre. Meanwhile Hamilton was second quickest but set his fastest lap of the session on the yellow-walled soft tyre. Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, and Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top five.

The session was red-flagged early on when the Williams of Felipe Massa ended up in the barriers on the exit of Malmedy. So extensive was the damage to the Williams that the team are opting to change the chassis. Pascal Wehrlein in the Sauber had his own reliability issues which allowed him to complete only 13 laps in the session. Later Valtteri Bottas inflicted some damage on his Mercedes as he strangely drifted off the track and into the barrier.

Fernando Alonso’s session was underscored with an underperforming engine. The Honda engine in Alonso’s McLaren is a new spec, specifically version 3.6. Meanwhile, local driver Stoffel Vandoorne, who was tenth quickest in the session, will drop 35 places on Sunday’s starting grid due to power unit element changes.

Final Standings Free Practice One:

Screen Shot 2017-08-25 at 11.54.30 AM

About Natalie Le Clue

Natalie Le Clue is an F1 aficionado of the most dedicated vein. And, true to form for any F1-enamoured junkie, she readily admits to crying the first time she saw a F1 car, calling it an ‘overwhelming moment’. Natalie has won the 2010 gSport Woman In Media award, the 2015 Woman In Media Print award, and has been named as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in South African Sport by the Department of Sport and Recreation. Natalie is currently serving as SAfm's F1 correspondent. Follow Natalie on Twitter @nlc27

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