F1 Belgian GP: Verstappen quickest in FP1 over Hamilton

Max Verstappen headlined the opening Formula 1 practice session at the Belgian Grand Prix, just over a tenth clear of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton as Red Bull demonstrated strong early pace.

The Red Bull pair traded times at the top of the timesheets in the first 20 minutes of the session, Verstappen sporting mediums and Hadjar on the softs. Verstappen, who moved to the top at the end of the first 10 minutes, was first to go below 1m47s, setting a 1m47.859s.

Hadjar then dug out a smidgen more time, going less than a tenth faster on his next effort to shuffle to the top. As the first half-hour came to a close, the Red Bulls were still on top of the pile; Kimi Antonelli posted a 1m47.603s to briefly sit at the top of the order, but Hadjar closed out the opening 30 minutes with a 1m47.322s to return to the top of the pile.

Verstappen then uncovered more time with a 1m47.070s to demonstrate Red Bull's early potency around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, having switched to softs to go 0.252s clear of his team-mate; the RB22s had found a handy groove in the middle sector, allowing them to make up a plentiful supply of time.

The Ferraris then split the two Red Bulls to move into second and third, Hamilton just 0.145s shy of Verstappen with his second run on a set of soft tyres. Silverstone winner Charles Leclerc was then half a tenth shy of his team-mate.

But Verstappen's hold over top spot was not shaken, and his 1m47.070s remained the quickest lap of the session - five seconds slower than Oscar Piastri's practice benchmark from 2025 with the new generation of F1 cars.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Andrej Isakovic - AFP - Getty Images

Piastri was fifth fastest this year, 0.452s off Verstappen's benchmark, as the McLaren driver was a tenth clear of championship leader Antonelli. The Australian looked set to pull up at the side of the road in the final couple of minutes of the session, being told to stop the car, but was allowed to bring the car back to the garage as the car retained enough hydraulic pressure to get back. 

Lando Norris and George Russell completed the top eight, as ninth-placed Arvid Lindblad was the first man outside of a second of the fastest time. The latter Briton was trialling a new, squarer roll-hoop intake for the Racing Bulls squad, as Liam Lawson retained the old half-circle design.

Gabriel Bortoleto was 10th quickest, a fraction ahead of Lawson, while Hulkenberg was 12th and over half a second down on his team-mate.

Jak Crawford was the sole FP1 rookie in the session and finished at the bottom of the timing board; Aston Martin looks to be in a difficult spot this weekend, as 21st-placed Lance Stroll was 5.7s off the pace and three seconds down on Valtteri Bottas' Cadillac. 

F1 Belgium GP - FP1 results

FP1

All Stats

 

Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	Tyres	km/h
1	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	3		Red Bull	Red Bull	24	1'47.070		S	235.494
2	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44		Ferrari	Ferrari	22	+0.145 1'47.215	0.145	S	235.176
3	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	22	+0.207 1'47.277	0.062	S	235.040
4	I. Hadjar Red Bull Racing	6		Red Bull	Red Bull	23	+0.252 1'47.322	0.045	S	234.941
5	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	21	+0.452 1'47.522	0.200	S	234.504
6	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12		Mercedes	Mercedes	23	+0.533 1'47.603	0.081	S	234.328
7	L. Norris McLaren	1		McLaren	Mercedes	19	+0.861 1'47.931	0.328	S	233.615
8	G. Russell Mercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	22	+0.889 1'47.959	0.028	S	233.555
9	A. Lindblad Racing Bulls	41		RB	Red Bull	24	+1.164 1'48.234	0.275	S	232.961
10	G. Bortoleto Audi	5		Audi	Audi	18	+1.336 1'48.406	0.172	S	232.592
11	L. Lawson Racing Bulls	30		RB	Red Bull	24	+1.362 1'48.432	0.026	S	232.536
12	N. Hulkenberg Audi	27		Audi	Audi	23	+1.892 1'48.962	0.530	S	231.405
13	O. Bearman Haas F1 Team	87		Haas	Ferrari	21	+1.940 1'49.010	0.048	S	231.303
14	A. Albon Williams	23		Williams	Mercedes	24	+2.267 1'49.337	0.327	S	230.611
15	F. Colapinto Alpine	43		Alpine	Mercedes	23	+2.333 1'49.403	0.066	S	230.472
16	E. Ocon Haas F1 Team	31		Haas	Ferrari	21	+2.379 1'49.449	0.046	S	230.375
17	P. Gasly Alpine	10		Alpine	Mercedes	23	+2.642 1'49.712	0.263	S	229.823
18	V. Bottas Cadillac F1 Team	77		Cadillac	Ferrari	21	+2.769 1'49.839	0.127	S	229.557
19	S. Perez Cadillac F1 Team	11		Cadillac	Ferrari	22	+3.156 1'50.226	0.387	S	228.751
20	C. Sainz Williams	55		Williams	Mercedes	25	+3.792 1'50.862	0.636	S	227.439
21	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Honda	19	+5.738 1'52.808	1.946	S	223.516
22	J. Crawford Aston Martin Racing	34		Aston Martin	Honda	22	+6.129 1'53.199	0.391	S	222.744
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