Belgian GP | Sebastian Vettel leads a Ferrari 1-2 in FP1, problems for Hamilton
A summary of the first practice session at the iconic Belgian circuit.
Canadian and current F2 driver Nicholas Latifi stepped in at Williams for George Russell in FP1. It’s one of his scheduled practice appearances in 2019.
Lewis Hamilton had problems in the early session as he reported a loss of power and was cruising around the track. However, the power seemed to return and the Brit made it back to the pits. Mercedes diagnosed a throttle pedal problem and fixed it.
UPDATE: Lewis had a problem with the throttle pedal on his first run. It is now being changed 🛠 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/RcPE8lNWKn
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) August 30, 2019
Robert Kubica and Daniil Kvyat both spun on the exit of La Source as the drivers struggled for grip in the early stages.
Yellow flag out briefly as Kvyat spins on the main straight 🔄
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 30, 2019
But he's back on an even keel soon enough and we're green again#F1 #BelgianGP 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/VROxqZAKkT
A VSC was deployed just after the half-hour mark as part of Lance Stroll’s engine cover fell off and left a lot of debris on the circuit on the Kemmel straight.
VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 30, 2019
We have some debris on the track, and it's come from Lance Stroll's engine cover 👀#F1 #BelgianGP 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/4XN5hBHnYo
Max Verstappen led the field before the teams had to hand back a set of tyres back at the 40-minute mark. The Dutchman’s 1:45.803 put him 0.9s clear of former team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. His new stablemate Alexander Albon followed in P3.
Bottas, Leclerc, Hulkenberg, Vettel, Sainz, Stroll and Perez completed the top 10 at that point of the session.
On the second runs, Ferrari took over at the top of the charts.
Sebastian Vettel’s 1:44.574 on the soft compound was the fastest time of the session. The German finished 0.214s ahead of Charles Leclerc. Verstappen and Albon followed in the Red Bulls. Albon was less than a tenth behind the Dutchman in his first session for Red Bull.
Bottas and Hamilton finished 5th and 6th as both Mercedes drivers ran on the slower mediums vs softs for the Ferraris and Red Bulls. Stroll, Ricciardo, Perez and Sainz rounded out the top 10.
Hulkenberg, Norris, Raikkonen, Grosjean, Giovinazzi, Magnussen, Kvyat, Gasly, Latifi and Kubica filled positions 11-20. 
