It's a familiar story up front after the sole free practice session ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. Oscar Piastri leads the way, four tenths of a second ahead of Max Verstappen, with teammate Lando Norris a tenth further back in third.
Red Bull have brought a set of significant upgrades to Spa that include a new cooling system and front suspension. Verstappen initially set the pace during the early runs. But after trading fastest times with Piastri throughout, it was the championship leader who secured the top spot once the qualifying simulations were complete.
George Russell had a trouble-free run to fourth, a scant seven hundredths of a second off Norris. The Englishman claimed victory here in 2024, only to be disqualified for having an underweight car. With no contract for next season and rumours of a potential Verstappen-Mercedes deal rife, Russell will be looking for a repeat of last year’s inspired drive.
Charles Leclerc weathered a slow-moving Gabriel Bortoleto and Lewis Hamilton at the top of Eau Rouge to briefly set the pace with a time of 1m 44.148. The Ferrari driver ended the session fifth, nine-tenths of a second off Piastri. Ferrari have brought a revised rear suspension setup to Belgium. When asked about its efficacy in the simulator, Hamilton (who ended the session in seventh after jumping the kerb at Eau Rouge and going deep at Les Combes) stated that the car felt “The same as before”.
Leclerc was unwilling to make any bold statements regarding the upgrades and simply described them as “a change that is going in the right direction”. Any talk of major prospective gains was swiftly shut down.
Kimi Antonelli split the Ferraris in fifth, the Italian keen to secure a good result, having only scored points once in the last six races. Despite mechanical issues early in the session, Lance Stroll ended up eighth, one place and eight thousandths ahead of his teammate Fernando Alonso. Aston Martin is one of many teams to have brought upgrades to Spa.
Isack Hadjar was hot on the Aston Martin’s heels in tenth (a hundredth of a second was all that separated him, Stroll, and Alonso) while Carlos Sainz secured 11th, one place ahead of his teammate Alex Albon. Sainz’s session was dogged by fuel issues that caused him to sit out the first half of free practice, though he was able to set a representative lap time by the end. Both drivers have been open about the lack of recent upgrades and the team’s desire to prioritise the 2026 regulations.
Gabriel Bortoleto was 13th ahead of the newest member of Formula 1’s podium club, Nico Hulkenberg. Liam Lawson was 15th ahead of old rivals Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. Yuki Tsunoda was once again unable to contend with his teammate and ended the session 18th, while Franco Colapinto experienced a lock-up at La Source en route to 19th ahead of Ollie Bearman.
This being a sprint weekend, free practice has been crucial. Teams with fresh upgrades have had very little time to gauge the differences in performance. With sprint qualifying set to begin at 16:30 local time, it won’t be long until the pecking order is established ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.
