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End of day
We have now reached the end of our Friday ticker. FT3 is tomorrow at 12:30 pm, qualifying at 4:00 pm, and we will be back on time with a new ticker for you.
Have a nice evening, enjoy your weekend and see you then!
Read more Despite rant on the radio: Max Verstappen with a solid Friday in Spa
Photos: F1: Belgian Grand Prix (Spa) 2026
Mercedes: Russell significantly closer
The Briton only landed in P8 today and was almost 1.3 seconds behind his teammate. Andrew Shovlin from Mercedes clarifies: “I don’t think this gap is representative of what George is capable of.”
Russell did not get a good lap, says Shovlin, who is therefore confident that the world championship runner-up will be much further ahead tomorrow. “There are many things we can identify that will be relatively easy to fix for him based on the data,” he emphasizes.
“I’m pretty sure he’ll be much closer tomorrow, if not even a threat [to the top],” says Shovlin.
Gasly: Lost the car
The Frenchman says about his crash in FT2: “I lost control of the car.” The Alpine slid a bit, and it took too long to regain control.
“When I had it back under control, I was already off the track,” says Gasly. Apart from that, things went pretty well for Alpine with P7 for teammate Franco Colapinto.
He is “happier” with the car than recently, reports the Argentinian and explains: “We have gained a bit of performance this weekend.” Although they still need to find “a bit more pace.”
But overall, the day was “positive,” says Colapinto.
Hamilton: Still problems in the middle sector
The record world champion reports after P4 today: “The car feels good overall, but we are still missing a bit in the middle sector. That’s why we are currently trying to figure out what the cause is.”
“It seems to be somewhat related to downforce,” says Hamilton. They could add more downforce to the car, but that would cost time on the straights.
Apart from that, he also emphasizes: “Mercedes is always the team to beat. That has been the case all year.” And that probably won’t change in Spa.
Pirelli expects one stop
If it doesn’t rain on Sunday, Pirelli expects only one pit stop. Simone Berra explains that a one-stop race is currently “very likely.” Apart from that, he reveals that the rain caused some minor surprises.
“The rain that fell overnight and throughout the day significantly reduced grip on the track, causing lap times to increase compared to our expectations and those of the teams,” says Berra.
He also clarifies: “As long as there is no further precipitation, the track will gradually be covered with rubber and reach the expected level again.”
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Haas: Still too far away
P12 and P14 today for the US team. “Overall, I’m quite satisfied because the car felt strong today,” reports Oliver Bearman, who however knows that Haas still lacks performance.
“With the new [front] wing, the characteristics we suffered from in the last races have slightly improved, so I’m quite satisfied,” says the Brit.
However, he also emphasizes: “We are still far from where we should be. We are nowhere near the level of VCARB, we are nowhere near the level of Alpine.”
“We have made a small step, but we need four or five times as many steps to be able to fight for points on our own,” he clarifies.
Vasseur: Friday without value
The Ferrari team principal also spoke about the sporting situation and emphasizes: “If you look at the last three or four Fridays, it’s not always representative of qualifying.”
“I think we all run with different modes, different fuel loads, and so on,” he recalls. Therefore, we have to wait and see how it looks tomorrow.
Ferrari only landed in P4 and P11 today. Lewis Hamilton was 0.747 seconds behind the best time of the day by Antonelli, Leclerc’s fastest lap was deleted due to track limits.
What do the new rules do to Spa?
There was already a lot of talk about the new regulations this year ahead of Spa. Lando Norris explains, not very enthusiastic: “There is simply a lack of deployment everywhere.”
“To be honest, we lack deployment on every single straight. I think it’s worst through Blanchimont. We drop from almost 320 to 270 km/h because we simply have no battery left,” says the Brit.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur adds: “Spa is definitely a challenge. It always has been, but given the energy demand, it is now an even bigger challenge.”
On one straight, you are “20 km/h slower” than another car, on the next suddenly “ten to 15 km/h faster,” says Vasseur. The race therefore requires good preparation regarding the battery.
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