Max Verstappen Leads Opening Practice, Anticipates Grid Penalty

Max Verstappen, facing a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race, led the timesheets for Red Bull in Friday’s opening free practice at the Belgian Grand Prix, outpacing McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. Verstappen, the current series leader and three-time world champion, clocked the fastest lap at 1:43.372, leaving Piastri, who recently secured his first Formula One victory in Hungary, 0.531 seconds behind. Verstappen aims to end a three-race winless streak and secure his fourth consecutive Belgian win.

Williams’ Alex Albon secured the third spot, followed by Mercedes’ George Russell and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, and McLaren’s Lando Norris. Carlos Sainz of Ferrari and Lance Stroll of Aston Martin rounded out the top ten.

Despite a warm, cloudy day with an earlier rain shower in the Ardennes, Verstappen set the initial pace on hard tyres with a time of 1:44.706, with Piastri trailing seven-tenths behind. Norris, the Ferrari drivers, and Hamilton started on soft tyres, while Esteban Ocon was stuck in the Alpine garage due to a suspected water leak.

Verstappen’s 10-place grid penalty was confirmed for taking a new engine, along with Yuki Tsunoda of RB, who will start from the back of the grid due to additional power unit components. Midway through the session, Perez joined Verstappen on track, switched to soft tyres, and took fifth place, though he struggled with car responsiveness.

By the session’s end, Verstappen led the times, followed by Piastri, Albon, and Mercedes’ Russell and Hamilton. Leclerc and Perez followed close behind. Hamilton faced issues at Les Combes and reported significant bouncing, while Russell complained about a lack of rear-end stability. Despite their concerns, Mercedes showed inconsistent pace in conditions favorable to their setup.