--- title: "Fernando Alonso Leads FIA World Endurance Championship First Practice at Spa" description: "The two-time Formula 1 world champion set a time that was one-tenth faster than his Toyota teammate." date: "2018-05-03" modified: "2018-05-03" authors: - name: "Jerry Perez" job_title: "Deputy Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/jerry-perez" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/20606/fernando-alonso-leads-fia-world-endurance-championship-first-practice-at-spa" categories: - "News" tags: - "Endurance Racing" - "Fernando Alonso" - "FIA WEC" - "Formula 1" - "racing" - "Racing News" - "Spa Francorchamps" --- # Fernando Alonso Leads FIA World Endurance Championship First Practice at Spa ![]() *\www.thedrive.com\* Current McLaren-Renault racing driver and two-time [Formula 1 world champion]() Fernando Alonso didn't waste any time acclimatizing to his new Toyota-branded office at the first practice session of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Spa-Francorchamps. There, he managed to set the fastest lap time of the session on his very first track outing. The Spaniard patiently waited in the pits as his teammate Sebastian Buemi kicked off the team's extensive testing program at the legendary track, which included a full shakedown of the car ahead of the driver change. The shakedown portion of the day lasted 35 minutes, which awarded Alonso the remainder of the 90-minute practice session to come to terms with the #8 TS050 [Toyota Hybrid racer]() in full racing trim. https://twitter.com/\_/status/991363215572586497 Alonso quickly got up to speed with the car and its handling characteristic, much like he did with [his Andretti Autosport IndyCar]() last year, and it didn't take him long to equal [Buemi's best lap time]() around the 4.3-mile circuit. Eventually, close to the end of the session, Alonso delivered a lightning-quick time of 1:58.492 seconds, which was exactly 0.237 seconds faster than his teammate. That's an incredible feat, considering Buemi has been much more involved with the Toyota WEC team and the equipment than Alonso. It will be interesting to see how Alonso performs over the course of the weekend, considering his somewhat tense relationship with most of the WEC paddock. Series' drivers voiced [a few angry comments and tweets]() earlier this year due to the FIA's favoritism of Alonso, which led to official calendar dates being switched around twice just to fit the Spaniard's Formula 1 commitments, affecting several driver contracts with other racing series and sponsors. ## Author Jerry is responsible for upholding The Drive's ethos as an audience-first, enthusiast-driven car blog that serves up industry-leading news, reviews, culture, and motorsport coverage. Overseeing a staff of writers and editors from his home base in Indianapolis, he helps curate the site's daily rundown, as well as its medium- and long-term content strategies. Jerry joined The Drive in 2018 as a writer and worked as news editor and managing editor before becoming the deputy in 2023. As a lifelong car enthusiast and racing fan, Jerry believes that all cars are cool, but the people behind the machines are even cooler. This belief often gives The Drive a slightly different focus from most other car sites, where we explore the humanity behind the machines. When he's not obsessing over the day's biggest stories or hanging out at a race track, Jerry can be found behind the wheel of a car, most likely sharing a laugh with his teenage son or daughter. ### Author social links [Instagram]()