Belgian GP 2026
JULY 17, 2026
Friday Report - Antonelli stays on top in disrupted FP2
© Mercedes
Kimi Antonelli completed a Friday practice double at the Belgian Grand Prix after setting the pace in a disrupted second practice session, beating McLaren's Lando Norris by almost two tenths as Pierre Gasly's late crash brought out the second red flag of the afternoon.
The Mercedes championship leader posted a best lap of 1m45.944s on soft tyres, finishing 0.190s ahead of Norris, while Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton continued Ferrari's encouraging form in fourth, with Isack Hadjar completing the top five despite knowing he faces a heavy grid penalty after taking multiple new power unit components.
With only one more practice session before qualifying, teams wasted little time gathering data. Most began on medium tyres to evaluate setup changes made after FP1, although several drivers opted for hard tyres as they prepared for race simulations around the demanding Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Antonelli established the early benchmark with a 1m46.911s on the medium compound, immediately bettering Verstappen's FP1 pace and edging Hadjar by just 0.011s.
The session was then halted after gravel was deposited onto the racing line at Stavelot, requiring marshals to briefly stop the action while the circuit was cleared.
When the green flag returned, attention quickly turned to qualifying simulations on the soft tyre.
Hadjar was the first driver to improve significantly, jumping to the top with a 1m46.714s. Verstappen then found almost three tenths to lower the benchmark to 1m46.416s, but neither Red Bull driver could match Antonelli once the Mercedes driver began his flying lap.
Producing two fastest sectors to start the lap, Antonelli stopped the clocks at 1m45.944s, becoming the only driver to break into the 1m45s during the session. It was another demonstration of Mercedes' impressive one-lap speed after the team had also topped FP1 earlier in the day.
Norris mounted the closest challenge, finishing just 0.190s behind after an encouraging lap from McLaren, although the Briton was unable to improve further before the session was interrupted again.
Hamilton slotted into fourth after his quickest lap was briefly removed from the timing screens before race control reinstated it, while Hadjar remained fifth.
Oscar Piastri recovered from losing the opening 20 minutes while McLaren repaired the hydraulic issue that interrupted his FP1 programme. Despite completing only 11 laps, the Australian still managed sixth place, less than a second behind Antonelli.
Franco Colapinto continued Alpine's encouraging weekend by taking seventh, while George Russell endured a frustrating session. The Mercedes driver could manage only eighth, finishing more than 1.2 seconds behind his team-mate despite completing 19 laps.
Racing Bulls enjoyed another competitive session as Arvid Lindblad finished ninth, one place ahead of Liam Lawson, giving the Faenza-based squad both cars inside the top 10.
Charles Leclerc ended the afternoon only 11th after his fastest lap was deleted for exceeding track limits at Raidillon. The Ferrari driver had recorded a lap that would have promoted him to seventh before it was removed from the classification.
Oliver Bearman led Haas in 12th ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto's Audi and team-mate Esteban Ocon, while Williams pair Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz finished 15th and 16th respectively. Nico Hulkenberg was 17th for Audi.
The biggest incident of the session came with around 15 minutes remaining when Gasly lost control of his Alpine through Les Fagnes. The Frenchman spun on corner exit before the rear of the car struck the outside barrier, damaging the rear wing and scattering debris across the circuit.
The resulting red flag prevented most teams from completing their planned long-run programmes, leaving race engineers with less representative race pace data heading into Saturday.
Gasly was classified 18th after also having an earlier, quicker lap deleted for track limits. Cadillac drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez were 19th and 20th respectively, while Aston Martin endured another difficult session, with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso occupying the final two positions more than five seconds adrift of Antonelli's pace.
After topping both practice sessions on Friday, Antonelli heads into Saturday as the early favourite, although the close margins between Mercedes, McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari suggest qualifying at Spa could prove one of the closest of the season.