Formula 1 championship leader Oscar Piastri delivered an impressive performance in the sole practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday, finishing fastest as teams prepared for the sprint weekend format at Spa-Francorchamps.
The McLaren driver was 0.404 seconds quicker than four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who is competing under a new team structure at Red Bull following the dismissal of long-serving team principal Christian Horner earlier this month. The session marked the first time Red Bull have raced without Horner in charge since entering Formula 1 in 2005.
Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris completed the top three, finishing 0.504 seconds behind, as McLaren looked competitive once again despite Verstappen denying them a one-two finish. Piastri currently leads the championship standings by eight points over Norris, and the sprint weekend could prove pivotal in extending that advantage.
With the Belgian Grand Prix running to the sprint format, Friday’s second session was replaced by qualifying for Saturday’s 100km sprint race.
George Russell set the fourth-fastest time for Mercedes, continuing his strong form at Spa after last year’s controversial disqualification when his victory was stripped due to his car being underweight. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished fifth, with Russell’s teammate Kimi Antonelli in sixth, splitting Leclerc from seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who ended the session seventh.
Lance Stroll was eighth for Aston Martin, ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso in ninth, while Isack Hadjar impressed by rounding out the top ten for Racing Bulls. The session also marked the debut weekend for Laurent Mekies, who officially replaced Horner as Red Bull’s team principal.
The sprint qualifying session is set to take place later today, with teams fine-tuning strategies for Saturday’s short race before Sunday’s full-distance Grand Prix.
