Antonelli fastest in Belgium FP2, Gasly crashes
Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes recorded the fastest time in Free Practice 2 (FP2) ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. He finished ahead of McLaren‘s Lando Norris and Red Bull‘s Max Verstappen. The session at Spa-Francorchamps was marked by two red flags, including one for a crash involving Alpine driver Pierre Gasly.
Antonelli, who currently leads the Drivers’ standings by 25 points, maintained the top position for a significant portion of the session. Despite earlier rain showers between the two Friday practice sessions, FP2 took place on a dry track under sunny conditions. Most drivers promptly began their runs when the pit lane opened at 1700 local time, though Oscar Piastri faced a 20-minute delay due to a hydraulic leak on his McLaren.
Practice Session Highlights
Drivers initially used Pirelli‘s medium tires. Antonelli set an early benchmark with a 1m 46.911s, surpassing Verstappen’s best time from FP1. This initial effort placed the Mercedes driver just 0.011s ahead of Isack Hadjar, with Verstappen 0.031s behind. Charles Leclerc, Norris, and George Russell followed, while Lewis Hamilton was P9 after running wide at the final chicane.
Russell’s subsequent attempt did not improve his position, leaving him more than one second slower than his Mercedes teammate. Verstappen’s chance to move to the top was hindered by a slow final sector after his wheel dipped into the gravel at Turn 14, which also led to a brief red flag to clear the track.
Once the session resumed, Hadjar was the first to switch to soft tires, posting a 1m 46.714s. Antonelli then further lowered the benchmark, becoming the first driver to break the 1m 46s barrier with a 1m 45.944s. Hamilton and Leclerc, both in Ferrari cars, positioned themselves behind Hadjar on their soft tire runs. Russell and Norris waited until closer to the halfway point for their qualifying simulations.
Russell improved to P7, but remained 1.2 seconds slower than Antonelli, commenting over the radio that his rear tires felt too cold. Norris then moved into second place, two tenths off Antonelli’s time. Franco Colapinto also climbed to P6 as teams began to focus on long runs and race simulations.
Gasly’s Crash and Penalties
A second red flag was deployed in the final 15 minutes of the session when Pierre Gasly had a significant incident at the exit of Turn 13. The Alpine driver’s car sustained heavy rear damage. Gasly later stated that he experienced a large snap, causing him to lose control and go off track. His team principal, Steve Nielsen, noted it was a small mistake that was amplified by the nature of the track.
Despite the session restarting with two minutes remaining, no further improvements were made to the times. This left Antonelli at the top, followed by Norris and Verstappen. The top six were completed by Hamilton, Hadjar, and Piastri. Colapinto remained ahead of Russell, with Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls completing the top 10.
Several drivers, including Norris, Hadjar, and Lance Stroll, face grid penalties this weekend for exceeding their permitted number of batteries. Antonelli’s championship lead has been affected by recent issues, including retiring from second place at the Barcelona Grand Prix and losing a potential victory at Silverstone due to a wheel fairing failure and a subsequent penalty.
Russell secured a win in Austria, his first victory since the opening grand prix of the season in Australia. Verstappen, who topped the first practice session, noted that his car was in a good window despite some issues with energy management on the straights. Red Bull has reverted to a standard rear wing after recent crashes for Verstappen, a change that insiders suggest could cost around 0.2 seconds per lap. Red Bull hopes to have a revised version of their new wing ready for the Hungarian Grand Prix next weekend.
The Racing Bulls team has introduced an upgrade on Lindblad’s car for this weekend, based on an agreement that the driver who qualified ahead at the British Grand Prix would receive the new parts for Spa. Lawson is expected to receive the next upgrade later in the year, which is also anticipated to be ready for only one driver initially.
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Source: formula1.com
