Four minutes remaining of first practice. Somebody might have told Romain Grosjean as he looks to increase the pace and then flies off into the gravel.

Chris Marsh: Lewis could jump in a Ferrari alongside Vettel and answer once and for all who is quicker over one lap #bbcf1

Chris Marsh: LH could generally cause trouble! Swap other driver's helmets, lower the height of the race engineer's chair, that kind of mischief 

Change the direction of the road signs? How very Dick Dastardly!

Image source, Getty Images

It may not be the quickest, but the Manor is very pleasing on the eye.

It's like a hipster was allowed to paint an F1 car. Or, as a colleague points out, a car was dressed in a Paris St-Germain kit.

Interestingly - or not - only Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have given the super soft tyres a run out today.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Spa-Francorchamps

Image source, Getty Images

For some time now, Fernando Alonso has been saying he will reserve a decision on whether to extend his career beyond the end of 2017 until he has experienced next year’s cars, to see if they give him back the joy of driving on the limit at all times of his earlier career, and which has been lost since Pirelli entered F1.

He says, bluntly, that the current cars are “not very fast and very fun to drive for me anymore”.

Lewis Hamilton was asked for his thoughts and his answer did not exactly fill anyone with confidence that much is going to change in 2017, despite the impending rule changes and plans to improve the tyres. 

“In terms of the rules, the cars are going to be the same next year,” Hamilton said. “It’s a different-looking car, the same issues are going to be the same and, what Fernando’s saying, we slow down as soon as we’ve done the start and got that out of the way, generally we’re not pushing 100% like perhaps they used to do. 

“It was a more extreme race back in the day, it was a sprint. For us, all starting in go-karts, that’s what it was from the get-go, from the lights out it was a sprint race to the end. Formula 1’s not about that anymore.

"We’ll drive the same next year, just with a heavier car, and having to save fuel, save tyres, do the same things. Yeah. Probably said more than I needed to say!”

I'm not going to lie, I respect you all enough to not do that.

It's been a little dull. Is dull the right word? How about non-exciting?

Nico Rosberg still leads with a time set about an hour ago - 1:48.348

Lewis Hamilton is +0.730secs

Kimi Raikkonen is a tenth of a second further back and Sergio Perez the same adrift again.

Image source, Rex Features

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Spa-Francorchamps

Although there is nearly half of this season still to go, many minds in F1 are already turning towards 2017 and the major rule changes it brings, aimed at making the cars faster. Among these will be wider tyres and, more importantly, a completely new tyre philosophy aimed at allowing the drivers to push hard throughout races rather than manage the tyres extensively and drive under the limit as they do now.

Sebastian Vettel conducted the first test on the development 2017 tyres, using a modified car designed to simulate next year’s downforce levels, at the start of the summer break at Ferrari’s Fiorano test track. How did he find them?

“It was an interesting experience,” he said. “I was able to get a few laps in the dry before switching to wet tyres. They looked quite different and felt a bit different but there is still a lot of stuff to do, a lot of homework to do, for Pirelli but also for the teams obviously we drive with a  sort of modified car and putting it the first day on the track we had some difficulties there. We did a few laps and got an interesting feel.”

Reading between the lines, that is not exactly a ringing endorsement of efforts so far, but Vettel said he would reserve judgement on where Pirelli were until he tried the tyres again at Barcelona in another test in a couple of weeks’ time.

Sebastian Vettel has improved his time to move up to P5, the meat in a Force India sandwich of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg.

Image source, Getty Images

Nico Rosberg seems to have practised a start and instantly complains to the team: "It was unusual how quickly the clutch fully closed."

Mercedes will want to look at that.

Here are the permutations for Fernando Alonso.

He's on a fifth engine of the season. If they put a new one into his McLaren, that'll be his sixth and a grid penalty.

If they put in an old one, he'll escape a penalty.

"I have no drive," Jolyon Palmer tells his Renault team.

The Briton had been plodding around Spa for a few minutes before that message came in. It's a forlorn sight as the car is pushed into the garage.

Richard Price: Surely Hamilton only needs to top Q1 and then park the car? Gets him inside 107% and saves the engine and tyres for the race

Stoo G: Hamilton's also one reprimand away from a grid penalty. Good weekend to do something daft in practice and get it out the way?

PhilSlocombe: Lewis will want P1 to maintain his psychological dominance over Nico.

Thys Paine: Lewis could play F1 2016 in his motor home and see what the front of the grid looks like this year 😂😂

Very little change to the times with 30 minutes of first practice left.

Rosberg leads on 1:48.348

Hamilton is +0.730secs

Raikkonen +0.799secs

Button is in P16 +4.059secs

Ocon on his first full F1 weekend is 5.512secs off the pace

I told you Fernando Alonso's car wasn't looking good. The McLaren engineers have given up getting it out in first practice.

It seems the Spaniard may need a new power unit.

Better get that deckchair out, Fernando.

Alex Crook: Another hair style? New tattoo?

Alex Shcnopple: To fill his #bbcf1 time, he could try & play Quidditch, am sure the track staff won't mind brushes going missing for a few hours

ian: he could help the mechanics fit Nicos' engine and box 

Our esteemed F1 writer Andrew Benson told you about the significant engine upgrade under the bonnet of the McLaren.

Well, it seems they're still putting them into Fernando Alonso's machine, as it's up on the stilts, sans wheels and there's numerous frantic engineers around it.

Fernando is yet to set a competitive lap.

Romain Grosjean gets on the radio to tell his Haas team: "I don't know how to drive around this front tyre pressure."

If you don't know Romain, I'm afraid I can't help.

So there you go. We want your suggestions - what could Lewis Hamilton do to occupy his time instead of qualifying?

Use #bbcf1 to tell us.

Image source, Getty Images

So, if he gets a full 30-place grid penalty, should Lewis Hamilton bother turning up for qualifying? Of course, he's a pro and he'll be there no matter what - but what else could he do?

Well, nearby Liege is described by Lonely Planet as "a living architectural onion with layer upon layer of history lying just beneath the disfigured surface".

That's a back-handed compliment!

In terms of things to do, his dogs would love to stretch their legs around Coteaux de la Citadelle, while the local aquarium is apparently popular with tourists.

Or he could just go for a leisurely drive around one of the world's most beautiful race tracks?

Any other suggestions? Let us know, using #bbcf1

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Spa-Francorchamps

Image source, Getty Images

McLaren have the benefit of a significant Honda engine upgrade this weekend, which has entailed the use of a total of seven development ‘tokens’.

Three of these have been used on the internal combustion engine and four on revisions to the turbo and compressor. Honda are admitting to hoping it will provide a pace boost of between 0.1-0.2secs a lap, which is a power boost of about 6-12bhp.

That’s not massive, especially in the context of a power deficit that Fernando Alonso said after the British Grand Prix was 80-100bhp. But Honda say they expect the drivers to feel the difference.

Jenson Button said: “It’s a good little boost. It is not going to move us up the grid, I wouldn’t say, but only because this race was always going to be a tricky one for us.

"I think it will leave us in the same place as in Hockenheim. And in Monza as well. Which is positive. Then when we get into the circuits like Singapore, they don’t have the negatives we have here, so I am looking forward to it.”