Both Mercedes drivers started the session with new power units, meaning Hamilton has now used turbochargers and six MGU-Hs this year and will incur a 15-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race as a result.
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His team-mate Nico Rosberg, whom he leads by 19 points in the world championship, has also taken a new power unit for the race.
Hamilton was dogged by persistent reliability trouble earlier in the season and was always likely to accept penalties on a single weekend at Spa or the upcoming Italian Grand Prix at Monza, where has has the best chance of making up the deficit.
Given the inevitable situation, Mercedes could take the opportunity to make further changes on his engine ahead of qualifying.
Hamilton is almost the clear favorite in every F1 race, but he has been forced to start from the 30 position due to making engine changes in both of his practice sessions.
Four drivers, including title hopeful Nico Rosberg, briefly ran with the device fitted to their cars in the opening 90-minute session at the Spa circuit, evaluating it for a possible introduction in 2018.
Lewis Hamilton is leading the drivers’ standings. He drove an excellent race here last year, climbing through the field to finish fourth and a repeat of that performance this year is badly needed.
But temperatures hit 35 degrees Celsius (95 F) in the afternoon, having reached 25 C (77 F) for the first practice at 10 a.m.
The Briton said he did not yet know how the team would approach qualifying, given he will be at the back of the grid regardless. But Verstappen is also attracting interest from local fans because his mother is Belgian. “I would like to win the race and the Red Bulls being stronger is going to be a bigger challenge this weekend to win the race”.
His win in Germany last month was number 49, and only Michael Schumacher (91) and Alain Prost (51) have reached the half century.
“That (penalty) will come into play for sure”, said Hamilton. “Of course, I would love to win the race, but it doesn’t change the pressure that I would put myself under this weekend”.
Rosberg was one of four drivers to briefly test the “halo” head protection device during the session, even setting his benchmark time with it fitted to his vehicle.
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A definitive model is not yet ready for next year.
