Max Verstappen led a surprise Red Bull one-two in second practice for tomorrow’s Belgian Grand Prix as Formula One roared back into life following its summer shutdown.

Nico Rosberg set the pace in the morning ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who will serve at least a 30-place grid penalty for exceeding the number of permitted changes to his Mercedes engine this season.

But Rosberg was only sixth yesterday afternoon, one second slower than Verstappen’s best lap of one minute and 48.085 seconds, while Hamilton was 13th.

The curious result is likely to be a knock-on effect from Hamilton’s penalty. With his result in today’s qualifying now meaningless given his mammoth penalty, Hamilton would have turned his attention to his race pace in a bid to provide him with the best opportunity of storming back through the field.

Nevertheless, Red Bull will be boosted by their strong form with Daniel Ricciardo one quarter of a second slower than Belgium-born Verstappen. Nico Hulkenberg was third for Force India and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel – the only other driver within one second of Verstappen – in fourth place.

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