Formula 1: Verstappen leads Belgian FP1

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SPA, BELGIUM – JULY 26: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing climbs from his car in the garage during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on July 26, 2024 in Spa, Belgium. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202407261171 // Usage for editorial use only //

Max Verstappen led the timesheets Friday afternoon from previous race-winner Oscar Piastri and the Williams of Alex Albon ahead of Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix. Facing a 10-place grid penalty for receiving a new power unit, the recently criticized world champion set a lap over half a second quicker than Piastri as Red Bull attempt to right their ship at the final stop before the Formula 1 summer-shutdown.

HIGHLIGHTS: Catch up on the FP1 action in Spa as Verstappen goes fastest while Ocon has early end to session

George Russell, who ended his session 4th on the timesheets, was the first to lead drivers out of the pits as the weekend kicked off with dry conditions on track despite the threat of rain looming during the weekend as Esteban Ocon was soon called back in as the field began their session. Alpine diagnosed a water leak in his “Deadpool & Wolverine” liveried machine, a tribute to partial team owner Ryan Reynolds’ stake in the team, as he would remain sidelined for the remainder of the session.

Lewis Hamilton had a quiet session as he ended 5th on the timesheets ahead of Charles LeClerc. The Ferrari driver, along with teammate Carlos Sainz, struggled for pace during the session as the Scuderia look to redeem themselves before the summer break after a recent string of rough form on track.

Sergio Perez, Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, and Lance Stroll rounded out the top 10.

Further down the grid, it was confirmed that Yuki Tsunoda would also be facing a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday with the RB team electing to change his power unit for the weekend.

FP2 starts at 17:00 local time as teams finish their Friday running. Tune in love to catch all the action and come back to RacerViews for continued coverage.

FORMULA 1 ROLEX BELGIAN GRAND PRIX 2024 Schedule

DateSessionTime (Local Circuit)
July 26thPractice 113:30 – 14:30
Practice 217:00 – 18:00
July 27thPractice 312:30 – 13:30
Qualifying16:00 – 17:00
July 28stRace15:00

Free Practice 1 Results

POSNODRIVERCARTIMEGAPLAPS
11Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Honda RBPT1:43.37223
281Oscar PiastriMcLaren Mercedes1:43.9030.531s24
323Alexander AlbonWilliams Mercedes1:44.0990.727s21
463George RussellMercedes1:44.2250.853s23
544Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:44.2790.907s21
616Charles LeclercFerrari1:44.3060.934s25
711Sergio PerezRed Bull Racing Honda RBPT1:44.3290.957s22
84Lando NorrisMcLaren Mercedes1:44.4151.043s24
955Carlos SainzFerrari1:44.5741.202s24
1018Lance StrollAston Martin Aramco Mercedes1:44.6991.327s20
1110Pierre GaslyAlpine Renault1:44.8331.461s22
1214Fernando AlonsoAston Martin Aramco Mercedes1:44.9211.549s19
133Daniel RicciardoRB Honda RBPT1:44.9501.578s23
1477Valtteri BottasKick Sauber Ferrari1:45.1551.783s21
152Logan SargeantWilliams Mercedes1:45.3111.939s20
1622Yuki TsunodaRB Honda RBPT1:45.5642.192s23
1727Nico HulkenbergHaas Ferrari1:45.6452.273s19
1820Kevin MagnussenHaas Ferrari1:45.8122.440s19
1924Zhou GuanyuKick Sauber Ferrari1:45.9952.623s23
2031Esteban OconAlpine Renault1