Kimi Raikkonen upstages Ferrari teammate Vettel to lead Belgian GP practice

Kimi Raikkonen proved why he is the dark horse for victory at the Belgian Grand Prix after setting the fastest time in practice on Friday.The 2007 world champion is known as the 'King of Spa' and reminded everyone why he has scored four victories around one of the most challenging circuits anywhere in the world.His best time of a 1m43.355s during the qualifying simulations in the afternoon put the Finn a tenth-and-a-half clear of Lewis Hamilton as Ferrari installed themselves as the team to beat.As expected, it was the performance of the Italian team's engine which proved the difference with Raikkonen's pace in the first and third sector, where the straights are, too strong despite the Mercedes being faster in the more technical middle part of the track.Ferrari also hinted at their performance when Sebastian Vettel led the morning session at Francorchamps, however, a mistake by the German during his attempted fast lap in the second practice left him down in fifth, seven-tenths back.Valtteri Bottas was third in the second Mercedes, but the 28-year-old is unlikely to be a major factor for the victory after it was revealed he will start from the back of the grid after taking on the new upgraded engine which sees him exceed his allocation for the season.That could help Red Bull, who have taken a very aggressive set-up strategy by running minimal downforce on their car to try and minimise the deficit on Spa's long straights.It is seemingly not enough to put themselves into contention for the win, however, as Max Verstappen sat fourth just under seven-tenths off the pace.His teammate Daniel Ricciardo also endured a tricky Friday as he missed 85 minutes of the opening 90 in the morning after a power unit problem and the Australian was still two-tenths back from his teammate in the afternoon in sixth.Just a day after their new entry in the 2018 Formula 1 championship as Racing Point Force India was confirmed, the team that still remains known as just Force India led the midfield through Sergio Perez in seventh.The Silverstone-based squad has lost all their Constructors' points as a result of the change in ownership which took place during the summer break but look well-placed to start repairing that damage at Spa this weekend.Renault appears more competitive than expected with 2019 McLaren driver Carlos Sainz in eighth but the expected strength of the Ferrari customer teams looms as the two Sauber drivers, Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc, completed the top 10.Perhaps the most disappointing performers on the day were Haas, the outfit which was the fastest in the midfield before the summer break, as neither driver finished in the top 10 in either session with Romain Grosjean the highest placed in 12th on both occasions.Esteban Ocon, who has been linked with an exit from Force India as soon as next weekend at Monza, also slipped back from a strong start to the day to 13th in the final standings.Behind Kevin Magnussen in the second Haas, Toro Rosso, McLaren and Williams completed the order.The lack of power from the Honda engine is particularly exaggerated around Spa and as a result, Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley were left 15th and 17th respectively.At McLaren, their attention appeared to be elsewhere with junior driver Lando Norris driving in the morning as part of a likely evaluation into whether he should replace Stoffel Vandoorne in 2019.The Belgian didn't do himself any favours either at his home race, suffering from brake issues which left him behind the current F2 driver in the morning before finishing last again in the afternoon session.Fernando Alonso also returned for the second session but could feature no higher than 16th.Sergey Sirotkin had the only significant off-track excursion on a largely uneventful day, spinning at Rivage in the morning before continuing, he would lead teammate Williams teammate Lance Stroll, however as the pair finished 18th and 19th.The full standings for the second session at Spa can be seen below:

Back at the front to conclude and Ferrari can certainly be very satisfied with their position heading into the first weekend after the summer break.

Typically the Maranello-based team also keep more performance in reserve for qualifying on Saturday, therefore, to already have an advantage over Mercedes could mean they sit in a very strong position.