FP1 of the Belgian GP went to Oscar Piastri. The Englishman confirmed McLaren's dominance, with a car capable of delivering a good compromise between the high-speed efficiency required for the first and third sectors, combined with the significant downforce demonstrated during the second sector. Ferrari led the way on the hard tyres for much of the session, but proved slightly slower in the qualifying simulation. Verstappen did what he could, while Mercedes struggled more on the hard compounds.
The Belgian GP begins: Sainz and Stroll immediately face problems at the start of FP1.
The green light is at 12:30 Italian time. All eyes are on two teams: Ferrari and Red Bull. The Maranello team is bringing its new rear suspension to the track, the first real fruit of Loic Serra's work. Red Bull, on the other hand, is racing for the first time without Chris Horner as team principal. Laurent Mekies is taking over. Giampiero Lambiase was absent for personal reasons., replaced on the pit wall by Simon Rennie. Meanwhile, FP1 of the Belgian GP already saw some minor twists: Carlos Sainz encountered problems with his power unit and was forced to return to the pits very slowly. Along with him, Lance Stroll also failed to complete more than a lap. The Canadian had problems and the car was immediately in the hands of his mechanics.
In the first quarter of an hour, the drivers are gaining confidence with the track. The compounds currently being used are the hard C1 and the medium C3. The teams will have to contend with the new compound change introduced this weekend by Pirelli. After twenty minutes, Max Verstappen, on the yellow tire, is leading the timesheets. Esteban Ocon and Yuki Tsunoda are following him on the same compound. Among the McLarens, the driver currently feeling most comfortable with the car and the track is Oscar Piastri. With almost half an hour remaining in FP1 at the Belgian GP, the Australian is in sixth place, on the hard tires, just ahead of his teammate.
Leclerc takes the fastest time at the half-hour mark on hard tyres
Big scare for Franco Colapinto After nearly thirty minutes of testing, he almost lost his car to Pouhon. The Argentine driver hit the green synthetic stripe just beyond the curb on the exit, almost sliding in a pendulum-like motion. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll appear to have resolved their issues and resumed track activity. All eyes, however, are on Ferrari's ongoing work. The Maranello team is trying to gather as much data as possible to understand how the car is reacting to the new features.
In terms of times, the situation is favorable for the reds. Leclerc set the fastest time of the session on hard tires at the half-hour mark. He then pitted to try a more powerful setup. Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, is in sixth place, two tenths behind his teammate. He's also set a time on hard tires. Esteban Ocon's performance is also impressive. The Frenchman from Haas is in fifth place after a strong time on medium tires. Mercedes are currently trailing. The two silver arrows are in eleventh and twelfth place with twenty minutes to go. Antonelli also ran a long lap at La Source.
At the end, the teams were busy with the qualifying simulation
Alpine chooses to run Franco Colapinto on soft tires. Stroll does the same with his Aston Martin. Both are therefore attempting a qualifying simulation with ten minutes to go. The Argentinean fails to get higher than ninth, while the Canadian temporarily takes the lead. Marc Gené, during the commentary, announced that Ferrari will not run a race simulation because there isn't enough time available. This appears to be the same direction taken by the other teams, who are also running on red tires to simulate qualifying laps.
A short-lived lead. Oscar Piastri set a great lap on red tires. He edged Stroll by a second, but more importantly, he edged Max Verstappen by half a second. The Dutchman also attempted a qualifying simulation, managing to lose less than McLaren on the sections of the track where a lighter car is expected. Norris, on the other Papaya car, made a mistake, finishing only tenth. Leclerc posted fourth fastest time on red tires, while Hamilton was sixth fastest on the same compound as his teammate. Kimi Antonelli's fifth place was noteworthy, thanks to a strong performance on medium tires.
The session ended like this: Oscar Piastri took first place with a solid 1:42.022, ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, the latter having set a good time at the end of FP1. Papaya was incredibly powerful in the central sector, where aerodynamic downforce is crucial. Finally, it's worth noting Russell's fourth place, achieved on the medium tyre, with a performance similar to his teammate's.
