Red flagpublished at 09:51

09:51

The red flags are being waved, Pastor Maldonado has crashed into a barrier....

Nico Rosberg does indeed head back out as he looks to add to the three laps he has under his belt so far. He runs wide at Les Combes.

Image source, Formula 1

All smiles in the McLaren garage during that mid-session lull. Shot of espresso there Jenson?

Some movement on the circuit again as Pastor Maldonado and Kimi Raikkonen head on out. 

Maldonado's best of the session so far is a 1:53.668 - 12th fastest time - but he's on a lap now and looking to improve on that.

There's a few fans that have made their way to scenic Spa to take in today's action. 

Here's one little spectator who didn't quite know they were famous for a moment, despite mum's best efforts to point out the camera.

Lee McKenzie
BBC F1 pit-lane reporter at Spa

"I am at McLaren and seeing a lot of work on the left side car, which is what Jenson Button mentioned over team radio. 

"They are putting the car together and I think Jenson will be out soon. Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, is also not in his car and has been working with some of the engineers."

Just over half an hour in and the track falls silent with everyone back in the pits for a debrief with their respective engineers.

As it stands, Lewis Hamilton has the fastest time of the morning, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo - the 2014 Belgian GP winner - Daniil Kvyat, Felipe Nasr and Kimi Raikkonen.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Spa

"Honda has an upgraded engine here in Belgium, and very upbeat they have been about it. Boss Yasuhisa Arai made some rather bold claims recently, suggesting the Honda was ‘much better’ than the Renault engine in the last race in Hungary - which no-one in F1 believes is anywhere near the case - and adding that with the upgrade to the combustion chamber for Spa they hoped to be able to match Ferrari. Which would be close to a miracle if it happened. Jenson Button said he would ‘wait and see - you don’t really know until you drive it’. The first indications will come with the speed trap figures in practice. 

"What is certain about McLaren is that both Button and team-mate Fernando Alonso will start from the back of the grid. The engine upgrade has required three development tokens - and both drivers had already used their maximum allowance. In fact, McLaren plan to use two engines in each car this weekend to increase their depleted pool of race engines. Plus there will be an as-yet-unspecified number of other parts of the engine fitted, which Honda say ‘are not new spec, they are just updated to work with the new spec engine’.”

"It's getting very hot in the car on the left-hand side," says Jenson Button over the radio.

Button and Fernando Alonso are set to start Sunday's race at the back of the grid as a result of engine penalties...

Great banter Gidders.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Spa

“Most drivers love Spa, ranking it if not their favourite circuit, then certainly among them. But not Lewis Hamilton, it seems. He greeted a question on whether it was one of his favourite tracks with a flat ‘no’ in the news conference on Thursday. 

"He was more expansive in his BBC Sport column, explaining that although he ‘knows he can be quick here… but it has rarely gone that well for me’. 

"He’s still a little miffed about the win that got away in 2008, too, when he was questionably denied a victory by the stewards following a controversial overtaking manoeuvre on Kimi Raikkonen. 

"Perhaps a victory this weekend would alter his thinking on the place.”

If Nico Rosberg's mind was on baby matters, it is quickly hooked back to Formula 1 as he complains over the radio that he has lost drive and makes for the pit lane.  

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton provides a nice shot for the cameras as he runs off at Turn 7, sending sparks and dust flying into the air.

Image source, Getty Images

A beautiful shot as sparks kick up from under Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari at Eau Rouge.

There's plenty of times on the board and it doesn't take long for Lewis Hamilton to take his place at the top of the timesheet with a 1:51.993.

Ben Edwards
BBC F1 commentator

“I think there will be more attention on the start because of the new rules. I don’t think it will vastly change things.

"We have seen plenty of incidents at the start of the Belgian GP over the years, so there will be extra interest in the start.”

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Spa

“Will the changes to the rules on starts make much of a difference this weekend? The drivers could not agree. Sergio Perez felt it was ‘a massive change’, Will Stevens said it would not make much difference and Sebastian Vettel said he ‘didn’t really get the point of what we’re trying to achieve’. The idea is to put the cars more in control of the drivers at the start - but the big change will come next year. For now, the only difference from before is that drivers will not be guided through the settings changes required on the formation lap, and the bite point of the clutch cannot be changed once the car has left the garage ahead of the race. 

“Jenson Button was especially dismissive of the effect it would have. ‘I’ve heard the starts are really complicated now - we have to think for ourselves,’ he said. ‘I’m scared about that.’ He added: “You’ve just got to have a memory. Normally we get told five seconds before we do something. We’re going to have to be able to remember it for 10 minutes. I think we’ll cope.’

“Off the line, he said, it would be ‘exactly the same - and that’s the thing that’s going to change next year. that is the area where it will become manual and be down to us with the throttle and clutch paddle trying to control the wheelspin. These days we are just holding the clutch in certain positions. It drives off and whether it wheelspins or under-delivers is not down to you. And when you release the second paddle it is down to you and then you control the wheelspin but you’re already doing 50km/h.’”

With a change to the rules kicking in from this race, the start of Sunday's race is potentially going to take on more significance, and Carlos Sainz is the first driver of the day to stop for a full practice start, before heading off and setting the early pace with a 1:54.645.

What's the weather like?published at 09:15 British Summer Time 21 August 2015

09:15 BST 21 August 2015

BBC Weather's Ian Fergusson:  Air temp 18C Track 20.8C; dry & fine throughout. P2 also expected dry/fine/warm."