Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel led the
way in the first practice session Friday for Sunday's Formula One
Belgian Grand Prix.
Vettel edged Red Bull's Max Verstappen by 0.151 seconds and
championship leader Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes by 0.318 seconds as
F1 returned following its summer break.
Both Vettel and Hamilton, who leads the German by 24 points in the
standings, start the second half of the season with upgraded engines
introduced by both teams.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was fourth, ahead of Hamilton's team-mate
Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo at the
Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Bottas will start the race from the back of the grid because of
engine penalties.
A second practice session will be held later Friday.
The Ferrari team paid tribute to the victims of the Genoa bridge
collapse with the message "Nei nostri cuori" (In our hearts) on the
nose of their two cars. It appeared in black letters under the
Ferrari logo, spanned by a bridge.
Forty-three people were killed when the Morandi, a motorway bypass,
gave way on August 14 during a thunderstorm.