As the second ‘half’ of the 2019 Formula 1 season got underway beneath bright skies at Belgium’s glorious Spa-Francorchamps circuit, it was Sebastian Vettel who took the early advantage, going fastest in Free Practice 1 ahead of his team mate Charles Leclerc, with Ferrari nearly a second clear of the rest of the field.

Vettel lapped the 7.004km Belgian Grand Prix circuit in 1m 44.574s, a few tenths off his best time from FP1 last year, with Leclerc ending up 0.214s back.

Behind the two Ferraris came the new Red Bull pairing of Max Verstappen and Alex Albon, Verstappen only able to get within 0.933s of Vettel, while Albon impressed as he finished less than a tenth off the Dutchman’s time on his first outing in the RB15.

READ MORE: AS IT HAPPENED - First Practice in Belgium

Valtteri Bottas, recently confirmed at Mercedes for 2020, ended the session in fifth, while Lewis Hamilton overcame a worrying moment where he lost power out on track – an issue that was later found to stem from a problem with his throttle pedal – to finish P6. It’s worth noting, however, that neither Mercedes driver bolted on the soft tyre during the session, meaning that there should be faster times to come from the W10s.