Nico Rosberg topped the practice times ahead of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton as Formula 1 returned from its summer break.
The German’s 1:51.577 couldn’t be bettered though Hamilton came close a few times, but errors cost him the top spot. The Briton went off several times as he pushed the limit.
Surprisingly Fernando Alonso was their closest rival, just a couple of tenths back in his Ferrari, whilst Jenson Button was fourth quickest for McLaren.
He was followed by Kimi Raikkonen, Sergio Perez and Kevin Magnussen.
Williams failed to show their hand in the session, coming in 10th and 15th quickest whilst stand-in André Lotterer outpaced Marcus Ericsson on his debut.
FP1 Full Times – 2014 Belgian Grand Prix:
| # | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:51.577 | 25 | |
| 02 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:51.674 | 0.097 | 24 |
| 03 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:51.805 | 0.228 | 16 |
| 04 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:52.404 | 0.827 | 21 |
| 05 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:52.818 | 1.241 | 17 |
| 06 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:52.903 | 1.326 | 24 |
| 07 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren | 1:52.922 | 1.345 | 23 |
| 08 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:52.937 | 1.360 | 22 |
| 09 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:52.972 | 1.395 | 19 |
| 10 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:53.172 | 1.595 | 20 |
| 11 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 1:53.389 | 1.792 | 11 |
| 12 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:53.594 | 2.017 | 21 |
| 13 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1:53.597 | 2.020 | 20 |
| 14 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber | 1:53.703 | 2.126 | 14 |
| 15 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:53.968 | 2.391 | 20 |
| 16 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:54.189 | 2.612 | 20 |
| 17 | 36 | Giedo van der Garde | Sauber | 1:54.335 | 2.758 | 16 |
| 18 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | 1:55.336 | 3.759 | 21 |
| 19 | 17 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 1:55.782 | 4.205 | 19 |
| 20 | 42 | Alexander Rossi | Marussia | 1:57.232 | 5.655 | 20 |
| 21 | 45 | André Lotterer | Caterham | 1:57.886 | 6.309 | 24 |
| 22 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Caterham | 1:57.977 | 6.400 | 24 |
Discussion about this post