Belgian GP - Free Practice

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Rolex Belgian GP

Free Practice 1

July 26, 2024

In the first practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix, Red Bull's Max Verstappen set the fastest time, despite facing a 10-place grid penalty for changing to a fifth engine.

This decision was made strategically by Red Bull, as Spa offers better overtaking opportunities compared to other tracks. Two years ago, Verstappen managed to win from 14th on the grid at this circuit.

Verstappen's time of 1:43.372 on soft tires was 0.531 seconds quicker than McLaren's Oscar Piastri, who claimed his first Grand Prix victory in Hungary last weekend.

Alexander Albon from Williams followed in third place, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes behind him. Both Mercedes drivers expressed concerns over car setup issues during the session.

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari finished sixth, while Sergio Pérez, Verstappen's teammate, ended up in seventh, almost a second slower than the Dutch driver. Lando Norris, who secured a McLaren one-two in Hungary and is second in the drivers' championship, took the eighth spot.

Carlos Sainz from Ferrari was ninth, and Lance Stroll from Aston Martin rounded up the top ten. Esteban Ocon faced troubles in his Alpine car, managing only one lap before having to abandon practice. Ocon is set to join Haas next season.

Free Practice 2

July 26, 2024

Lando Norris quickest in Belgian GP practice over Oscar Piastri

Lando Norris was fastest in Friday's practice at the Belgian Grand Prix ahead of his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, with Red Bull's Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen, who will face a 10-place grid penalty, in third.

Red Bull decided to suffer the punishment for taking on a fifth engine at Spa where overtaking is easier than other circuits, and where the three-time champion won from 14th on the grid two years ago.

Verstappen, without a win in three races, will have his work cut out this time however, with McLaren bringing their Hungarian form to Belgium after Piastri won his first F1 GP last weekend, ahead of Norris.

That win may have been overshadowed slightly by Norris' delay in accepting team orders to allow Piastri retake the lead, but the pair have clearly put that behind them, and Norris posted the fastest time of 1:42.260 seconds.

Norris, second in the drivers' championship, was eighth fastest in the first practice session, but overtook his teammate's impressive time in the second session to finish 0.215 seconds ahead of Piastri.

Verstappen posted the fastest time, 1:43.372 seconds, in the earlier session, but ended the day just behind Piastri and 0.217 seconds adrift of Norris.

Ferrari improved their standings in the second practice, with Charles Leclerc moving from sixth to fourth and Carlos Sainz up from ninth to fifth, which came at the expense of Mercedes pairing George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

Russell dropped from fourth to sixth with Hamilton, who has won the Belgian Grand Prix four times, falling to 10th from fifth in the first session, 1.259 seconds behind Norris.

Esteban Ocon, who will drive for Haas next season, had significant issues with his Alpine car, where a suspected water leak saw him complete just one lap before abandoning the first practice, but he finished the day with the seventh fastest time.

Kevin Magnussen of Haas, still without a drive for next year, posted the eight fastest time while Sergio Perez continues to struggle for Red Bull, and ended the day in ninth, over one second slower than Verstappen and 1.244 off Norris.

The rain stayed away on Friday, but is expected to fall on Saturday at Spa for the final practice session and qualification. RB's Yuki Tsunoda will start at the back of the grid on Sunday after his engine penalty.

Free Practice 3

July 27, 2024

In the final practice session of the Belgian GP, Aston Martin's driver Lance Stroll crashed due to rain, while Max Verstappen of Red Bull set the fastest time.

The rain caught the drivers off guard after two dry practice sessions on Friday, leaving little time for preparation ahead of Saturday's qualifying.

Stroll lost control at Raidillon corner, hitting the barriers and damaging the left-front suspension of his Aston Martin, prompting the red flag to be waved just 12 minutes into the session.

"Lance had an incident in the rain in FP3. He got out of the car unaided and has been taken by the medical car to the medical centre for routine precautionary checks," Aston Martin stated.

Verstappen set a time of 2:01.565, nearly 20 seconds slower than Norris' fastest time on Friday, but no one managed to beat his time in the difficult conditions.

Before Stroll's crash led to a red flag, three drivers - Carlos Sainz of Ferrari, George Russell from Mercedes, and Kevin Magnussen of Haas - hadn't even started their laps.

Although the green flag briefly waved, no one left the garages due to the rain, which caused the red flag to halt any further attempts before qualifying, as the track remained wet.

The session resumed for the final two minutes to allow drivers to practice their starts, hoping for improved conditions before the start of qualifying.

Oscar Piastri of McLaren, who won his first F1 GP in Hungary last weekend, had the second-fastest time, 1.433 seconds behind Verstappen, with Pierre Gasly from Alpine in third and Norris, Piastri's teammate, in fourth.

Norris, currently second in the drivers' championship, is 76 points behind Verstappen. His performance on Friday indicated he poses a threat to the leader this weekend, who faces a 10-place grid penalty after Red Bull introduced a fifth engine.

Esteban Ocon of Alpine took the fifth spot, ahead of Charles Leclerc from Ferrari, with Stroll in seventh.

"Lance is back in the team's hospitality and is ok. The team will now work on repairing the damage to his AMR24 ahead of qualifying," Aston Martin stated.

Valtteri Bottas from Sauber secured the eighth fastest time, while Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes came in ninth, and Sergio Pérez from Red Bull finished in 10th place, trailing his teammate by 5.538 seconds.

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