Max Verstappen laid down an early marker at Spa-Francorchamps by setting the fastest time in the opening practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix, finishing just over a tenth of a second ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
The Red Bull driver clocked a best lap of 1:47.070 to edge Hamilton by 0.145 seconds, with Charles Leclerc completing a strong session for Ferrari in third, just 0.207 seconds off the pace. Isack Hadjar impressed to finish fourth for Racing Bulls, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri rounded out the top five.
Red Bull arrived at Spa using an older specification rear wing after Verstappen’s recent crashes in Austria and Silverstone left the team short of newer components. Despite that, the reigning world champion looked comfortable throughout the hour-long session and established himself as the benchmark once the field switched to the soft tyre.
The session also marked the beginning of a challenging weekend for McLaren’s Lando Norris and Red Bull driver Hadjar, who are both carrying significant grid penalties. Norris is set to receive a 10-place grid drop, while Hadjar faces a 20-place penalty that is expected to send him to the back of the field regardless of where he qualifies.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz led the cars out when the green light signalled the start of the session, while Mercedes’ George Russell posted the first representative lap before Hamilton and Verstappen quickly lowered the benchmark.
Hadjar briefly topped the timing screens after becoming the first driver to break into the 1:48s, benefiting from an early run on the soft compound while much of the field initially opted for medium tyres.
As more teams switched to the softer compound around the halfway point, Verstappen found another level of performance to reclaim top spot. Ferrari responded well, with Hamilton and Leclerc moving into second and third to underline the Scuderia’s encouraging pace heading into the Sprint weekend.
Mercedes, however, appeared less comfortable. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli struggled to extract maximum performance from the soft tyres and later told his race engineer the car felt “a bit edgy” on qualifying-style laps, prompting the team to concentrate on longer race simulations instead.
Antonelli was also involved in one of the session’s more notable incidents when he was forced to take avoiding action after encountering a slow-moving Sainz. Frustrated, the Italian labelled the Williams driver “an idiot” over team radio. Sainz was later noted by the stewards for crossing the white line at the pit entry, with the incident scheduled for investigation after the session.
McLaren also experienced a minor scare in the closing stages when Piastri reported a hydraulic pressure issue. The Australian briefly stopped on track before being instructed to drive slowly back to the pits, although he still managed to retain fifth place.
Antonelli finished sixth ahead of Norris and Russell, with Arvid Lindblad continuing to impress in ninth and Gabriel Bortoleto completing the top ten.
Further down the order, Liam Lawson finished 11th ahead of Nico Hülkenberg, Ollie Bearman, Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto. Esteban Ocon, marking ten years since making his Formula 1 debut, ended the session 16th, while Pierre Gasly, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez followed.
It proved a difficult opening session for Sainz, who ended the hour in 20th after his earlier incident with Antonelli. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was 21st, while reserve driver Jak Crawford, standing in for Fernando Alonso during the session, completed the order in 22nd.
The teams will now analyse the data gathered during the opening hour before returning to the circuit for Free Practice 2 later this afternoon.
