The first free practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix was won by Carlos Sainz. The Ferrari driver set his fastest time after about 40 minutes of driving. The fact that nobody went faster than his 1:46.538 was mainly due to a red flag and rain.
Charles Leclerc also made an excellent start to the weekend by being just seven hundredths of a second slower than his Spanish teammate. In doing so, he outpaced the other eighteen Formula One drivers. Max Verstappen finished third in FP1, two tenths behind Sainz. George Russell clocked the fourth time.
Lance Stroll and Alexander Albon are remarkably well placed with P5 and P6. This doesn't have to mean much though, as the times will drop considerably during the course of the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.