(Motorsport-Total.com) – Max Verstappen struck in his living room and set the fastest time of the weekend during the training in Spa-Francorchamps (follow live here in the ticker). The Red Bull driver was 0.145 seconds faster than the first pursuer with a time of 1:47.070 minutes, even without the problematic rear wing.
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In the first session, that was Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc (+0.207) took second and third places. Verstappen’s teammate Isack Hadjar (+0.252) was fourth, but he will not play a role in fast times during qualifying, as he – like Lando Norris – will face a grid penalty for changing engine parts.
Speaking of McLaren: Oscar Piastri (+0.452) and Lando Norris (+0.861) finished fifth and seventh, but again struggled with problems: Norris took quite a while to set a first time, while Piastri rolled slowly around the track at the end due to a hydraulic problem.
Mercedes did not play a major role in the first session: World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was sixth with a 0.533-second deficit, George Russell was eighth with a 0.889-second deficit and thus the slowest of the top teams.
Arvid Lindblad (9th/Racing Bulls) and Gabriel Bortoleto (10th/Audi) completed the top 10, Nico Hülkenberg finished twelfth in the second Audi.
The most important points in brief:
Result: 1st Free Practice in Spa-Francorchamps
Photos: Belgian Grand Prix 2026
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How did the comparison to 2025 look?
Many had feared beforehand that the track would become a special challenge due to energy management. And that has been confirmed: In onboard footage, especially between Blanchimont and Bus-Stop, you could already get the feeling that the cars were drifting quite slowly towards the corner there.
A comparison of the times shows that the drivers were about five seconds (!) faster a year ago. Because there, Oscar Piastri set a best time of 1:42.022 minutes in the first training. However, it must be said that the comparison is flawed: Because Spa 2025 was a sprint weekend, the first was also the only training – including real qualifying simulations.
Were there any problems?
There was no major off or accident, but McLaren was once again in focus due to technical problems. First, world champion Lando Norris only got a timed lap late – McLaren has not yet provided any information about the reason. It is only certain that the Englishman will lose ten grid places due to new control electronics.
Two minutes before the end of the session, Piastri was told over the radio to stop his car – there was a problem with the hydraulic pressure in his car. At first, he stopped the car before Les Combes, but after a short break, he drove off again and slowly rolled back to the pits.
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Otherwise, the drivers only reported the usual problems of lack of grip. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) also complained that his steering wheel was sluggish when turning left, while Isack Hadjar complained that something was wrong with his seat adjustment because his legs touched his arms, which is not usually the case.
Were there again Friday drivers?
Yes, at least one. The American Jak Crawford sat in Fernando Alonso’s car at Aston Martin. For him, it was already the third deployment this season, after he had already replaced Alonso in Suzuka and was allowed to sit in Lance Stroll’s car in Austria. Thus, Aston Martin is the only team to have already enabled three rookie deployments.
However, Crawford was only 22nd and last with more than six seconds behind, while teammate Lance Stroll finished just one position ahead – four tenths ahead of the American (for an overview of the Friday drivers 2026).
What’s next at the Belgian Grand Prix 2026
The second free practice is scheduled for 5 p.m. Unlike usual, there will be no live stream on the Formel1.de YouTube channel on Friday – this will only be the case on Saturday and Sunday.
The Formula 1 Saturday (July 18) in Spa-Francorchamps begins at 12:30 p.m. with the third and final free practice. At 4 p.m., qualifying for the race on Sunday follows. Kevin Scheuren and Stefan Ehlen will report from 9 p.m. in the YouTube live stream and discuss all important topics about the qualification.
On Sunday (July 19), the race start in Spa-Francorchamps is scheduled for 3 p.m. At 8 p.m., Kevin Scheuren and Stefan Ehlen will start their Grand Prix analysis to be finished just in time before the start of the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina. As always, channel members can ask their questions live.
All information about streams and TV broadcasts in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland can be found in our current overview. Details about the weather forecast can be found in our preview.
After Spa, the Hungarian Grand Prix will follow immediately next weekend. Then comes the summer break with three race-free weekends in a row. (View the 2026 race calendar here!)
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