Belgian GP: Bottas pips Hamilton, Verstappen in FP1
Valtteri Bottas set the pace in the opening Formula 1 practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix, leading a 1-2 finish for Mercedes ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
After seeing Max Verstappen set the initial pace on Friday morning at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on the medium tyre, Bottas jumped to the top of the standings after switching to the soft compound Pirellis.
Bottas recorded a fastest time of 1m44.493s to claim P1 in first practice and narrowly beat Hamilton, who set his lap just moments after his teammate but fell 0.069 seconds short.
Verstappen was able to run both Mercedes drivers close after making a slightly later switch to soft tyres, but was 0.081 seconds shy of Bottas' benchmark come the end of the session.
None of the leading three drivers opted for multiple attempts at the fastest time through a quiet opening practice at Spa that was not interrupted by a single stoppage or yellow flag.
Bottas suffered a front-left puncture during a race simulation run on the soft tyres late in the session, but was able to easily get back to the pits.
The session saw Racing Point continue its historic good form at Spa as Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll took fourth and fifth place respectively. Perez lapped just 0.136s off Bottas' leading time, with Stroll finishing a further two-tenths of a second behind.
Alexander Albon ended the session sixth for Red Bull, almost half a second down on teammate Verstappen.
Esteban Ocon was the leading Renault in opening practice at Spa, finishing seventh as Daniel Ricciardo ended the session ninth overall, one-tenth of a second behind his teammate.
The Renault drivers were split by McLaren's Carlos Sainz in eighth, while Lando Norris completed the top 10 in the sister McLaren MCL35.
Norris provoked an angry reaction from Pierre Gasly early in the session after the AlphaTauri driver felt he was held up by the McLaren at Stavelot, but the incident was not noted by the stewards.
Gasly finished the session 12th behind teammate Daniil Kvyat, with both drivers setting their best times on the medium compound tyre.
Kimi Raikkonen took 13th for Alfa Romeo ahead of the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel, whose anticipated struggles on the straights left them well off the pace.
2019 Spa race winner Leclerc was 1.2 seconds off Bottas' time, while Vettel finished a further four-tenths of a second back.
Williams drivers Nicholas Latifi and George Russell finished 16th and 17th respectively, finishing ahead of Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean and Antonio Giovinazzi, all of whom failed to set a time.
Grosjean reported a loss of power on his Haas F1 car early in the session, with the team confirming it was set to change the Ferrari power unit as a result of the issue. Magnussen's engine also had to be removed due to a similar problem.
Alfa Romeo said that Giovinazzi's car had suffered a "technical issue", limiting him to just two installation laps in FP1.
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Valtteri Bottas |  | Mercedes | 18 | 1'44.493 | |
| 2 |  Lewis Hamilton |  | Mercedes | 17 | 1'44.562 | 0.069 |
| 3 |  Max Verstappen |  | Red Bull | 20 | 1'44.574 | 0.081 |
| 4 |  Sergio Perez |  | Racing Point | 22 | 1'44.629 | 0.136 |
| 5 |  Lance Stroll |  | Racing Point | 22 | 1'44.868 | 0.375 |
| 6 |  Alex Albon | | Red Bull | 22 | 1'45.049 | 0.556 |
| 7 |  Esteban Ocon |  | Renault | 20 | 1'45.099 | 0.606 |
| 8 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. |  | McLaren | 24 | 1'45.222 | 0.729 |
| 9 |  Daniel Ricciardo | | Renault | 21 | 1'45.225 | 0.732 |
| 10 | Lando Norris |  | McLaren | 28 | 1'45.274 | 0.781 |
| 11 |  Daniil Kvyat |  | AlphaTauri | 25 | 1'45.447 | 0.954 |
| 12 | Pierre Gasly | | AlphaTauri | 17 | 1'45.503 | 1.010 |
| 13 | Kimi Raikkonen |  | Alfa Romeo | 19 | 1'45.704 | 1.211 |
| 14 |  Charles Leclerc |  | Ferrari | 18 | 1'45.759 | 1.266 |
| 15 |  Sebastian Vettel |  | Ferrari | 15 | 1'46.179 | 1.686 |
| 16 | Nicholas Latifi |  | Williams | 19 | 1'46.488 | 1.995 |
| 17 | George Russell |  | Williams | 21 | 1'46.570 | 2.077 |
| 18 |  Kevin Magnussen |  | Haas | 1 | ||
| 19 | Romain Grosjean |  | Haas | 2 | ||
| 20 |  Antonio Giovinazzi |  | Alfa Romeo | 2 | ||
| View full results | ||||||
Related video
Verstappen: Red Bull "definitely overachieved" in 2020
F1 to use outer Bahrain 'oval' layout for second grand prix
The inevitable consequence of the Liberty F1 popularity boom
Sell out crowds at Formula 1 races are the norm rather than the exception these days, as grand prix racing is enjoying a massive boom under Liberty Media. But the Spanish Grand Prix highlighted numerous issues some circuits may face as demand for F1 soars
The danger for Red Bull in its Barcelona F1 team orders choice
OPINION: Red Bull walked into a team orders saga on its way to taking a Spanish Grand Prix 1-2 last weekend, where it took the lead of the 2022 Formula 1 world championships for the first time. But its decisions have added an element of risk to later races.
Why Mercedes' Spanish GP gains aren't as grand as they seemed
Mercedes' strong showing in last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix prompted team boss Toto Wolff to say it had halved its deficit to the leaders and its Formula 1 title chances were back on after a rocky start to the 2022 campaign. But a closer inspection of the team's performance suggests its gains aren't as grand as they first appeared
What's next for the Green Red Bull controversy?
From the 'pink Mercedes' to the 'Green Red Bull', the Silverstone-based team has received suspicious glares from up and down the Formula 1 paddock over its car design exploits. But after being cleared by the FIA over its Spanish Grand Prix updates amid a backdrop of cries of foul play, what's next in this saga?
Spanish Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2022
In an unusually hectic Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc was denied a dominant performance by his Ferrari engine letting go which allowed Max Verstappen to pick up the pieces. But numerous flashpoints kept the race twisting and turning throughout, with one perfect score from an emerging contender
How Verstappen overcame his and Red Bull’s errors to win in Spain
Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari engine disaster offered an open goal for Max Verstappen and Red Bull to strike, but the reigning Formula 1 world champion still had to solve multiple errors and profit from a begrudged assist from team-mate Sergio Perez, which created an unexpectedly eventful Spanish Grand Prix
Why Red Bull can win a Spanish GP that looked perfect for Ferrari
Formula 1's return to Spain on Friday ended with Ferrari leading the way from Mercedes, while Red Bull could only manage third fastest overall courtesy of Max Verstappen. But its chances of victory are far from remote with a deeper dig into the times despite Ferrari's strong start...
The key aspects of Porsche and Audi's planned F1 entries
The VW Group’s German superpowers of sportscar racing have all but confirmed they are coming to F1 when the next set of engine rules come into force in 2026. Here's why both manufacturers are all set to take the plunge, and crucially how it might work