FP1: Verstappen fastest in Belgium FP1, Piastri and Albon impress

Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool

Max Verstappen topped the timesheets in the first practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix, clocking a 1m 43.372s. The Dutchman outpaced McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by half a second, despite facing a 10-place grid penalty for a new power unit.

Check out the results of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, including the race results, qualifying times, and practice sessions

The session began in dry conditions at 1330 local time, with George Russell leading the initial run-out. Early drama unfolded as Daniel Ricciardo spun at La Source, narrowly avoiding the barriers. Esteban Ocon returned to the pits shortly after due to a suspected water leak on his Alpine, sporting a special Deadpool & Wolverine livery.

Verstappen set an early pace on hard tires, eventually securing P1 with an impressive time on softs. Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda will both face grid penalties for new power unit components. However, this didn't deter Verstappen, whose session went smoothly compared to teammate Sergio Perez, who reported struggles.

Fernando Alonso also faced concerns, questioning his Aston Martin engineer about the car’s pace in the first sector. Despite this, Verstappen’s fastest time stood unbeaten.

Oscar Piastri finished second, followed by an impressive performance from Alex Albon in third for Williams. Mercedes duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton secured fourth and fifth, respectively, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was sixth.

Sergio Perez managed seventh, followed by Lando Norris (McLaren), Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) rounding out the top ten.

Pierre Gasly took 11th for Alpine, followed by Alonso, Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber), and Logan Sargeant (Williams). Tsunoda settled for 16th, with Haas duo Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen in 17th and 18th. Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber) finished 19th, while Ocon remained in the pits due to his car issues.

With FP1 wrapped up, teams will debrief before the second practice session at 1700 local time.

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