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Practice report
Formula 1 Belgian GP

F1 Belgian GP: Norris heads McLaren 1-2 in FP2

McLaren turns up the wick after Verstappen's FP1 domination as Norris beats Piastri and Verstappen to top spot

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri gave McLaren a 1-2 in FP2 for Formula 1’s 2024 Belgian Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen, while in the other Red Bull Sergio Perez was again massively adrift.

The result provided a significant twist in the weekend’s early narrative after Verstappen had crushed the field in FP1, while the pressure on Perez increased given his gap to his team-mate with Red Bull set to decide on his F1 future following this race.

Under heavier skies compared to Friday afternoon’s earlier FP1 session, Verstappen quickly again moved to the top times with his early laps on the medium tyre.

Verstappen established the first place benchmark at 1m43.456s, which he improved to a 1m43.339s with a second run his first set of tyres – heading Norris’s McLaren, which unusually for FP2, had been fitted with softs from the off.

Norris sat 0.1s off Verstappen’s best time after his first flier, which grew to 0.2s after the Dutchman’s improvement, with Norris’s second lap on his softs coming in 0.002s down on his personal best at this stage.

The pack then headed to the pits around the 15-minute mark, before Sainz kicked off the more typical qualifying simulation runs through FP2’s middle phase.

The Ferrari driver moved ahead of Verstappen’s initial benchmark with a 1m43.098s, before Piastri became the next driver to have a go on the softs.

He beat Sainz with a 1m42.475s – despite a wild moment coming out of Turn 9, the final part of Les Combes, where he dipped his left-rear in the gravel.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38

Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

Verstappen then tried on the red walled rubber but could not topple Piastri as his softs effort came in 0.002s down, with the Red Bull losing time in the third sector compared to Verstappen’s previous personal best.

With Sainz shuffled down and then beaten by team-mate Charles Leclerc to put the Ferrari drivers fourth and fifth, Norris then reappeared on a new set of softs for a proper FP2 qualifying simulation.

Norris then shot to the quickest times in the second and third sectors to produce a 1m42.260s that put him 0.215s clear of Piastri and 0.217s over Verstappen.

Behind the leaders, George Russell was the top Mercedes driver in sixth, with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Kevin Magnussen (Haas) getting in front of the embattled Perez on the lower-fuel runs.

Perez ended up 1.244s down on Norris, with a 1.27s difference to Verstappen in the other Red Bull.

Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top 10 in the other Mercedes, before the pack switched to race simulations under ever darker skies and rain threatening to break to FP2’s end.

In these, Piastri had another wayward moment exiting the downhill Turn 11 left that precedes Pouhon’s fast sweeps, with his MCL38’s floor being badly bashed along the exit kerbs.

Norris also had his race run interrupted with a lengthy spell in the pits, while Daniel Ricciardo (14th) had to stop his early for RB after feeling a problem he suspected was a rollbar coming loose.

Williams did not repeat its strong showing in FP1, where Alex Albon had been third, as he finished down in 17th ahead of team-mate Logan Sargeant in 18th.

F1 Belgian GP FP2 Results

   
1
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4
   
   
1
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2
   
Cla Driver # Chassis Engine Laps Time Interval km/h
1 United Kingdom L. Norris McLaren 4 McLaren Mercedes 19

1'42.260

  246.571
2 Australia O. Piastri McLaren 81 McLaren Mercedes 23

+0.215

1'42.475

0.215 246.054
3 Netherlands M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1 Red Bull Red Bull 26

+0.217

1'42.477

0.002 246.049
4 Monaco C. Leclerc Ferrari 16 Ferrari Ferrari 23

+0.577

1'42.837

0.360 245.188
5 Spain C. Sainz Ferrari 55 Ferrari Ferrari 25

+0.838

1'43.098

0.261 244.567
6 United Kingdom G. Russell Mercedes 63 Mercedes Mercedes 24

+1.030

1'43.290

0.192 244.112
7 France E. Ocon Alpine 31 Alpine Renault 23

+1.141

1'43.401

0.111 243.850
8 Denmark K. Magnussen Haas F1 Team 20 Haas Ferrari 21

+1.225

1'43.485

0.084 243.652
9 Mexico S. Perez Red Bull Racing 11 Red Bull Red Bull 24

+1.244

1'43.504

0.019 243.607
10 United Kingdom L. Hamilton Mercedes 44 Mercedes Mercedes 25

+1.259

1'43.519

0.015 243.572
11 Canada L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing 18 Aston Martin Mercedes 21

+1.272

1'43.532

0.013 243.542
12 Spain F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14 Aston Martin Mercedes 24

+1.278

1'43.538

0.006 243.527
13 Finland V. Bottas Sauber 77 Sauber Ferrari 24

+1.415

1'43.675

0.137 243.206
14 Australia D. Ricciardo RB 3 RB Red Bull 21

+1.563

1'43.823

0.148 242.859
15 France P. Gasly Alpine 10 Alpine Renault 24

+1.569

1'43.829

0.006 242.845
16 Germany N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team 27 Haas Ferrari 21

+1.586

1'43.846

0.017 242.805
17 Thailand A. Albon Williams 23 Williams Mercedes 23

+1.632

1'43.892

0.046 242.698
18 United States L. Sargeant Williams 2 Williams Mercedes 24

+1.966

1'44.226

0.334 241.920
19 China Z. Guanyu Sauber 24 Sauber Ferrari 23

+2.042

1'44.302

0.076 241.744
20 Japan Y. Tsunoda RB 22 RB Red Bull 24

+2.088

1'44.348

0.046 241.637

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