F1 Belgian GP live updates - sprint qualifying

Mekies in first Red Bull media appearance

Earlier this afternoon, Laurent Mekies joined Jonathan Wheatley and Ayao Komatsu in the official team principals' press conference - his first one in Red Bull gear.

Unsurprisingly, many of the questions were directed at him, and his explanation of how quickly the opportunity came around demonstrated that he only found out a couple of hours before it was officially announced.

Mekies on the call-up: "It was not very different for me than it was for you, really, guys. I got a call a few hours before you guys were made aware. I got a call from Oliver and Helmut, and they asked me if I would be interested to do the job, and obviously it came out of the blue at that moment for me. 

"I was actually in the UK at Racing Bulls and came in a completely unexpected way, and I actually asked them to think about it for a few hours and hang up the phone, and obviously, you know, it's difficult to digest.

"But the first thing that then comes into your mind, you say, 'well, wait a second, it's Red Bull. They are calling you, they ask you to step in to do that job'. With everything that Red Bull means, you know, its energy, its spirit, how they go about their racing teams, and that's how you pick up the phone and you say, 'of course, it's an honour, it's a privilege'."

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing Team Principal

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Eau my word!

You can see how the compression affects the cars at Eau Rouge and uphill to Raidillon - the cars bottom out and scrape the ground, and you can see the skid block marks on the circuit.

Here's Lance Stroll on his way uphill.

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images

Belgian GP FP1 leaderboard

Main Information Additional Data Driver Info Driver Info

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Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	Tyres	km/h
1	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	23	1'42.022		S	247.146
2	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	23	+0.404 1'42.426	0.404	S	246.171
3	L. Norris McLaren	4		McLaren	Mercedes	22	+0.504 1'42.526	0.100	S	245.931
4	G. Russell Mercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	27	+0.576 1'42.598	0.072	M	245.759
5	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	22	+0.906 1'42.928	0.330	S	244.971
6	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12		Mercedes	Mercedes	23	+0.957 1'42.979	0.051	M	244.849
7	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44		Ferrari	Ferrari	24	+1.063 1'43.085	0.106	S	244.598
8	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Mercedes	17	+1.090 1'43.112	0.027	S	244.534
9	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Mercedes	22	+1.098 1'43.120	0.008	S	244.515
10	I. Hadjar RB	6		RB	Honda	19	+1.100 1'43.122	0.002	M	244.510
View full results

Belgian GP sprint qualifying - start time at 4:30pm local

Practice is done and dusted; now, it's all about sprint quali and setting the grid for Saturday's sprint race. 

Oscar Piastri led the way in free practice, setting an impressive 1m42.022s on soft tyres to go 0.4s quicker than Max Verstappen.

McLaren prioritised more downforce in the second sector - can it trim out for more performance in the opening part of the lap? Will Red Bull add downforce? We'll find out.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Clive Rose / Formula 1 via Getty Images