What did we learn from Friday in Belgium: Ferrari fast, problems at Mercedes?

It's been a long time, but F1 returned on Friday in Belgium at the stunning Spa-Francorchamps circuit, and we had a very interesting day of running, but what did we learn that we can carry forwards into Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's race?

Ferrari look fast

Ferrari were the quickest car in both sessions on Friday, with Sebastian Vettel leading from Charles Leclerc in FP1, and the order being reversed in FP2. Over one lap, they seemed to have a big gap to Mercedes and Red Bull behind, so we make Ferrari favourites for a pole position on Saturday. However, when it came to race pace, Mercedes seemed to have the edge during the long run simulations the teams did in FP2, so if all goes as expected, Mercedes chasing Ferrari in the race could be very interesting.

Problems with Mercedes' engine upgrades?

Mercedes brought a new engine upgrade to this weekend, their Spec-3 engine. However, Lewis Hamilton said it only gives them a 0.05 second improvement, and Racing Point, a Mercedes customer, suffered problems. Firstly, Lance Stroll said there was something burning in the back of his seat, and then Sergio Perez stopped out on track with smoke coming out of the back of his car. Not a good sign for Mercedes, who may want to switch back to their previous spec engine just to be safe.

Penalties galore in the midfield

Alex Albon will start from the back in his first F1 race for Red Bull, and there are a whole host of penalties for several midfield runners. Renault duo Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg will join Carlos Sainz, Lance Stroll and Daniil Kvyat in starting further back than they qualify. Read more here.

Pressure off Albon?

Starting from near enough the back of the field for sure, perhaps the pressure will be off Alex Albon as he goes into his Red Bull debut. Going up against Max Verstappen is no easy feat, and the Thai driver will be able to run his own race from the back of the grid, without any added pressure of having to compete directly with the Dutchman.