Championship leader Kimi Antonelli underlined Mercedes’ growing confidence at Spa-Francorchamps by setting the fastest time in Free Practice 2 for the Belgian Grand Prix, leading the field ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
The Italian produced a best lap of 1:45.944 to finish 0.190 seconds clear of Norris, while Verstappen was almost half a second adrift in third. It marked an encouraging afternoon for Mercedes after Antonelli had already shown strong pace during the opening practice session.
Despite rain falling between Friday’s two practice sessions, the track remained dry throughout FP2, allowing teams to complete valuable qualifying simulations and longer race runs.
Mercedes wasted little time establishing itself at the front.
Running on the medium compound, Antonelli immediately set a benchmark quicker than the fastest lap recorded during the morning session, signalling the Silver Arrows’ intent before the field switched to the softer Pirelli tyre.
As the session developed, Antonelli continued to find time, becoming the first driver to dip below the 1:46 barrier. His lap ultimately remained unbeaten despite late improvements from Norris and Verstappen.
While Antonelli extracted impressive pace from the W17, the same could not be said for team-mate George Russell.
Russell struggled to unlock performance on the soft tyres and finished eighth, more than a second behind Antonelli. Frustrated over team radio, the Briton reported that the rear tyres “felt too cold”, suggesting Mercedes still has work to do to maximise performance across both sides of the garage.
The session was interrupted twice by red flags.
The first came after Verstappen ran wide at Turn 14, dragging gravel onto the racing line and forcing marshals onto the circuit to clear the debris.
The second stoppage occurred with around 15 minutes remaining when Alpine’s Pierre Gasly suffered a heavy accident on the exit of Turn 13, leaving his car with significant rear-end damage. Although the session resumed briefly, there was insufficient time for any meaningful improvements.
Behind Antonelli, Norris continued McLaren’s strong Friday pace in second, with Verstappen third. Lewis Hamilton led Ferrari’s challenge in fourth ahead of Isack Hadjar and Oscar Piastri.
Franco Colapinto delivered another eye-catching performance to finish seventh for Alpine, while Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson completed the top ten alongside Russell.
Mercedes will head into Saturday encouraged by Antonelli’s outright pace, although the significant gap between its two drivers suggests there is still work to do before qualifying if the team is to mount a sustained challenge at the front.
