Belgian GP 2026
JULY 17, 2026
Practice 1 Report - Verstappen tops Belgian GP first practice
© Red Bull
Max Verstappen opened the Belgian Grand Prix weekend by setting the fastest time in first practice at Spa-Francorchamps, leading Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc as Red Bull and Ferrari emerged as the early pace-setters.
Under dry conditions at the 7.004km Ardennes circuit, teams concentrated on baseline setup work before turning their attention to qualifying simulations during the second half of the hour. Verstappen ultimately produced a best lap of 1m47.070s on the soft tyres, finishing 0.145s ahead of Hamilton's Ferrari.
The session began with drivers evaluating medium and hard compounds before the expected switch to softs. Verstappen was among the first to show competitive pace, recording a 1m47.859s on the medium tyre to become the first driver beneath the 1m48s barrier.
Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar, already running on soft tyres, briefly moved ahead before Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli jumped to the top of the times with a 1m47.603s as the track continued to improve.
Hadjar quickly responded with a 1m47.322s to restore Red Bull to the top of the order, but Verstappen's qualifying simulation proved decisive. The four-time world champion found additional time through Spa's flowing middle sector and lowered the benchmark to 1m47.070s, a lap that remained unbeaten for the rest of the session.
Ferrari looked capable of challenging throughout. Hamilton improved on his second flying lap on the soft compound to record a 1m47.215s, leaving him just over one tenth behind Verstappen, while team-mate Charles Leclerc was only 0.062s slower than Hamilton with a lap of 1m47.277s to complete the top three.
Hadjar maintained fourth place, just 0.252s off Verstappen, giving Red Bull two cars inside the top four and providing further evidence that the RB22 has arrived at Spa with strong pace.
Oscar Piastri led McLaren's challenge in fifth with a 1m47.522s, finishing 0.452s adrift of Verstappen and narrowly ahead of Antonelli, whose earlier benchmark ultimately left him sixth. Lando Norris completed the session seventh with a best time of 1m47.931s, while George Russell was eighth for Mercedes after posting a 1m47.959s.
Piastri's session featured the only notable reliability concern. McLaren instructed the Australian to stop the car during the closing minutes after detecting a hydraulic issue, but enough pressure remained for him to drive slowly back to the pits without interrupting the session.
Arvid Lindblad continued another encouraging weekend for Racing Bulls by taking ninth with a 1m48.234s while evaluating a revised square-profile roll-hoop intake. Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the top 10 for Audi, fractionally ahead of Liam Lawson, while Nico Hulkenberg finished 12th despite ending more than half a second behind his rookie team-mate.
Oliver Bearman was quickest for Haas in 13th, followed by Williams driver Alex Albon, Alpine's Franco Colapinto, Haas team-mate Esteban Ocon and Alpine driver Pierre Gasly.
Cadillac drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez finished 18th and 19th respectively, while Carlos Sainz ended a difficult session in 20th despite completing a session-high 25 laps for Williams.
Aston Martin struggled for pace throughout the hour. Lance Stroll could manage only 21st, more than 5.7 seconds slower than Verstappen, while reserve driver Jak Crawford made his Formula 1 practice debut and finished 22nd after completing 22 laps.
Although only the opening session of the weekend, Red Bull appears to have arrived at Spa with a competitive package, particularly over a single lap. Ferrari was comfortably its closest challenger, while McLaren and Mercedes remained within striking distance as teams prepared to continue their programmes in Friday afternoon's second practice session.