Rosberg fastest ahead of Hamilton in first Belgian Grand Prix practice

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, BELGIUM — Nico Rosberg posted the fastest time in the first practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday.

In unusually hot morning conditions on the Spa track, Rosberg was .730 of a second quicker than second-place Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen was third fastest, .799 behind Rosberg.

Whatever Hamilton goes on to achieve in Sunday’s qualifying will be made redundant, however, as he is taking a 15-place grid penalty for having changed too many engine parts.

Hamilton, last year’s Belgian GP winner, has won six of the past seven races and leads Rosberg by 19 points with eight races remaining after this one.

But his penalty means Rosberg has a good chance to even things out.

Although practice lacked excitement, it was important for testing as drivers were given two extra sets of Pirelli tires, while some wore a protective halo device.

Pirelli, the Italian tire manufacturer, is testing tires to try and add more protection for drivers from impacts with kerbs and track debris.

This follows Sebastian Vettel’s rant when his tire blew during last year’s race.

The Spa track, nestled in the Ardennes forest, is known for its rather cool climate. Not this year. When the practice got underway at 10 a.m., temperatures were around 25 C and set to rise above 30 for the afternoon run.

The heat is likely to increase the wear on tires, meaning teams have to choose wisely in practice and qualifying in order to preserve the right tires for Sunday’s race. If the temperatures remain high, the harder medium tires will be the obvious choice, and this could prove troublesome for Ferrari because Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen have only brought one set of medium tires each.