The second half of the 2015 season got underway in Spa today, with the first of the Free Practice sessions for Sunday's 2015 Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix.

Manor Marussia F1 Team drivers Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi returned to the track after a four-week break between races, and immediately resumed the close-fought intra-team battle that has been steadily building through the first half of the season. Today they ended the two sessions in P19 and P20 respectively.

Will Stevens: "Despite a nice relaxing break, you can't underestimate the lure of racing and it was fantastic to be back in the cockpit today. I always enjoy it here, it's such a mighty circuit, and as we've seen today with other teams, not an easy one to master. Nonetheless, I think we have done a good job here today on the opening day of running and it bodes well for the rest of the weekend."

Roberto Merhi: "Overall, a good day for me and the team, at a circuit that is a bit of a favourite for me. The red flags made it difficult to maintain our rhythm, but we completed the programme and I think it is a good start to the weekend ahead. We have a few new things with the car; small developments but ones designed to help increase our confidence to push the car. It's nice to be back in the close fight with my team-mate again and I hope we can continue to push each other like this for the rest of the season."

John Booth, Team Principal: "It has been good to return to the racetrack today, and at such a challenging and visually stimulating track as Spa. The day has been punctuated by various red-flag incidents - thankfully, not involving us - and this has made it rather more difficult to get into a good rhythm. Nonetheless, we have had a straightforward and productive day in dry conditions similar to those expected on Sunday, so it's good that we have achieved a good baseline with which to start the weekend. Although we find ourselves in what have become fairly typical positions this season, we are reasonably in touch with the cars immediately ahead. So, a good start from both drivers."

Check out our Friday gallery, here.