Piastri sets the pace in sole Belgian GP Practice

McLaren carried its momentum into Spa as both drivers slotted into the top three during the Belgian Grand Prix’s sole practice session, with Oscar Piastri leading over Max Verstappen and Lando Norris ahead of Sprint Qualifying.

With the sun shining over the iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Friday’s sole practice session proved crucial as it gave drivers a chance to reacquaint themselves with the longest track on the calendar, while teams worked to decode Pirelli’s non-consecutive tyre allocation spanning the C1 to C4 compounds.

As a result, it wasn’t a surprise to see the drivers filing out of the pitlane, kickstarting the first and only hour of practice in Belgium as the light went green. 

Hoping to contribute to a strong first weekend as Team Principal for Alan Permane, Liam Lawson was one of the first drivers to grace the circuit, racking up his first few Formula 1 miles around Spa on the hard compound tyre. 

On his second flying lap, Lawson found comfort within the top ten, setting a time of 1:46.599s to slot into P8.

Despite further improvements in the minutes that followed, Lawson slipped down the order into the bottom five, prompting a lengthy stint in the RB garage as the session reached the halfway mark.

When Lawson finally emerged from the pitlane, the Kiwi was sporting the medium compound tyre.

Rounding the 7km circuit in 1:43.478s, Lawson momentarily boosted himself back into the top ten, however, with his competitors making the switch to the quicker C4 tyre, a drop down the order was inevitable. 

That lap remained his fastest through to the chequered flag, with the Kiwi rounding out FP1 in P15 while his RB teammate claimed the final place in the top ten, three-tenths ahead.

Also starting his session on the C1 compound tyre was Oscar Piastri, who quickly found his footing around his favourite circuit on the calendar, settling into P1 during the opening 15 minutes with a benchmark time of 1:44.979s. 

Completing seven laps on the hard compound, Piastri traded in his first set of used white-marked tyres for a fresh set, rejoining the session as it reached the halfway mark. 

From sixth fastest, the Australian jumped into the top three, falling just five milliseconds short of the lead Ferrari as he completed his run through the 19 corners.  

That lap remained his fastest until the final ten minutes of FP1 when he made the switch to the soft compound tyre.

Setting a personal best opening sector, Piastri upped the pace through Sectors 2 and 3 to go purple, resulting in a time of 1:42.123s which held its own against the field’s initial attacks. 

As the final seconds ticked by, however, Piastri shaved a further tenth off his lap, securing the top time ahead of Sprint Qualifying in Belgium.

Not having as great a session as the Australian was Carlos Sainz, whose session got off to a critical start when his FW47 switched into ‘limp mode’ which forced him to bunker down in his garage. 

Taking the car apart in the Williams garage, the mechanics detected an issue with the #55’s fuel system, working to fix the PU problem to allow Sainz to rejoin the action before the end of the session. 

His teammate also had his fair share of early struggles, with Alex Albon becoming just one of many drivers to get caught up in the braking zone at the end of the Kemmel Straight — an error echoed by Lewis Hamilton.

Running an upgraded rear suspension configuration on his Ferrari, the seven-time world champion spent the 60-minute session battling “rear locking and instability”, locking up across the run-off at Turn 5, after catching his #44 challenger through Eau Rouge.

That wasn’t Hamilton’s only notable moment through the infamous corner, with Gabriel Bortoleto growing frustrated when the pair were forced to dart out of his Ferrari teammate’s way, faulting the #44’s poor positioning mid-corner. 

Undeterred by the traffic interference, Charles Leclerc soon worked his way to the top of the timesheets at the halfway mark of the session, holding a benchmark time of 1:44.148s which placed him just 0.005s ahead of Piastri, and less than a tenth clear of Max Verstappen in P3.

Hamilton wasn’t too far behind, running as the second fastest driver, behind Leclerc’s pace, on the hard compound tyre.

Forced to slam on his brakes, George Russell almost found himself running into the rear of Franco Colapinto’s Alpine when the rookie slowed on the racing line, gaining race control’s attention. 

The Alpine driver session was a tricky one, with Colapinto earlier twitching across the kerbs as he wrestled to avoid a trip through the gravel.

Towards the end of FP1, Lance Stroll was the first driver to bolt on the soft compound tyre, putting over a second of leeway between himself and Leclerc in second with an expectedly flying time of 1:43.112s.

The Aston Martin driver’s stint at the top of the tables was short-lived, however, with Piastri stealing the coveted position before Verstappen and Leclerc knocked the #18 down two further notches.

On the medium compound tyre, Russell found personal best pace, gaining attention when he slotted into second fastest, just under half a second back on the McLaren driver before the final haul of flying laps kicked off. 

The championship leader was able to hold his own in P1 with a benchmark of 1:42.022s, taking the chequered flag five-tenths ahead of his teammate who managed to put together a clean run after dipping two wheels in the gravel just moments earlier. 

Max Verstappen rounded out the top three despite voicing his concerns regarding his RB21, feeling as if he was cornering on three wheels before joining the drivers on the starting grid to end the only practice session of the weekend.

Teams have less than three hours to sort through the data ahead of Sprint Qualifying, with the fast-tracked first competitive session at the Belgian Grand Prix taking place at 00:30 AEST.

Image: McLaren

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