5 Things We Learned From 2026 Belgian GP Friday Practice
Formula 1's Belgian Grand Prix weekend got underway with a bang. The fastest drivers in the world were looking to master the mesmeric Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, and some pushed their cars too far. Here are all of the highlights and talking points from Friday's running.
Video Transcript
Bonjour, and welcome to the start of our Formula One coverage for this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.
We're gonna review all of the main action and talking points from today's free practice one and free practice two session around the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
So, allez, let's get started.
Had to throw a bit of French in there, guys, 'cause of course there's no French Grand Prix these days, so, you know, gotta use it whenever you can, and this is an opportunity to do so.
Probably the last opportunity on the calendar.
We have Canada, and that's kind of it.
That's kind of French a little bit with Montreal.
But anyway, let's dive into the action around Spa.
So unsurprisingly, Max Verstappen was looking pretty quick this week, and he's won here three times.
He's always quick around Spa.
He won the sprint race, of course, last year as well.
He's really, really good around here.
This is basically his home circuit from back in the day.
Yes, he competes under a Dutch license, but he was born in Belgium, and Spa was basically next to where he grew up.
Verstappen was fastest in FP1, and despite complaints from Max about his gearbox and shifting in FP2, he still managed to get in third place.
Hajo, though, had another mixed day overall, it's fair to be said.
No matter what he does in qualifying tomorrow on Saturday, he will start from the back of the grid.
That's because he's opted to take a complete power unit change, and this is not a bad place to do it.
Spa is probably the track on the calendar where it's easiest to overtake than any other, and Red Bull should be pretty quick here in race trim.
But he had a visor issue in FP2, and in FP1 he said his seat position was wrong.
I have to assume that was the problem.
He said his hands were touching his legs, which for someone so small, that is actually quite worrying that they got the setup so wrong with that.
But anyway, less about short kings.
Let's move on to McLaren.
Lando Norris will probably start close to the back of the grid, depending on how he actually qualifies on Saturday.
That's because he's got a 10-place penalty, so the absolute best that he can manage is 11th.
Norris, though, was looking quick, particularly in free practice two, where he managed to finish in second place.
Oscar Piastri, he looked fast as well, but he had a lot of mechanical issues today.
Towards the end of FP1, his car stopped out on track, some sort of hydraulics problem.
He managed to keep it going and get it back to the pits so they could assess the issue.
However, the car was not fixed in time for the start of FP2, but he did eventually get out, albeit set in the fewest number of laps.
Th- However, he did manage to finish in P6, so that's not really a bad effort, all things considered.
Consistency-wise, though, I would say that Ferrari are probably looking like the second quickest team, which isn't really a surprise.
Although, I think they should take some solace in that.
This is a power track.
The weakest part of their car is their engine, and they're still looking like they're up there and competitive in the mix.
Hamilton was in second place in FP1.
Leclerc was down in P3.
Hamilton was then P4 in FP2.
Leclerc, though, all the way down in P11.
I'm not sure why he was so slow.
I don't know if it was traffic.
I don't know if he failed to set a truly quick time.
I don't know if it was strategy, tires, fuel.
No idea.
It could be any of the above or something else.
It is practice, after all.
Hamilton, though, remember, he's really good around here.
He's won five times.
Only Michael Schumacher has won more than him.
Leclerc, meanwhile, won his first Grand Prix in Formula One in 2019 here, but he hasn't stood on the top step of the podium since then.
Fourth thing that we learned is that unfortunately, despite some excellent pace from Franco Colapinto in FP2 in particular, Alpine have a lot of work ahead of them on Friday night.
They'll probably still be repairing Gasly's car, which was absolutely smashed to pieces at, I think it was the Fanja chicane.
It was hard to tell on the cameras.
Either way, he lost control in that corner, pushed it too hard, went into the barriers, and out of qualifying, and out of the practice session as a result.
Unsurprisingly, the red flags were flown.
Colapinto, though, like I said, did a really good job in FP2, all the way up in P7.
Very impressive.
Quickest overall for the day, Kimi Antonelli.
He was up in P1 in FP2, and that was despite both he and George Russell looking fairly average, fairly mid during their runs in FP1.
Russell, though, continued that form into FP2.
He finished down in eighth.
Really poor effort from Russell.
I don't know what he was doing.
Again, it's practice.
You can't read too much into it.
But again, it's a pretty bad look, you must say.
Both of them looked slow in FP1.
Antonelli looked really quick in FP2.
Russell is gonna have to learn from that and produce much better pace in FP3, and indeed in qualifying tomorrow.
But as always, guys, we'll be here to review it here on the Formula Reports and the F1chronicle.com.
Who's getting pole position?
Looking at this, it looks like it's gonna be Kimi Antonelli.
Is that gonna be enough to win on Sunday?
We'll have to wait and see.
Get your picks in the comments below, guys.
I wouldn't rule out Max Verstappen pulling out a miracle as well, especially if it is wet and rainy tomorrow.
We had no wet running today at Spa, despite the forecast saying that it was a distinct possibility.
But of course, that weather can change very, very quickly.
Anybody who's been to Spa, like myself, well, they will know how quickly it can change.
It felt like a winter's day about half an hour after it being feeling like a summer's day.
It should be a summer's day at this time of year, but you can never predict the weather in that part of the world.
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See you soon.
Have a good one.
