The tenth round of the 2026 Formula 1 season takes place at the Belgian Grand Prix.
One of the most famous tracks on the F1 calendar, Spa-Francorchamps has played host to some truly iconic moments.
As ever, teams have brought a number of updates to the track, with McLaren bringing a new rear wing to test on Friday, making use of the long Kemmel Straight for data gathering. This wing, however, is understood not to be McLaren's 'Macarena' wing, which was taken to Austria but not used.
After Max Verstappen's crash at Silverstone, Red Bull has also elected to bring a more conventional wing to Belgium. In the wake of his off, the Dutchman branded the wing "super-dangerous", with Red Bull committing to a full investigation into the underlying problem.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has warned that the Silver Arrows must fix their reliability woes, with Ferrari now breathing down the neck of points-leader Kimi Antonelli after taking two wins from the last three weekends.
Finally, with the new Mercedes power unit, Lando Norris will take a 10-place grid penalty on Sunday, after also taking power electronics, his fourth set of the season. This exceeded the maximum of three permitted to complete the campaign.
2026 Belgian Grand Prix Friday schedule
FP1 12:30pm BST - 1:30pm BST
FP2: 4:00pm BST - 5:00pm BST
But for now, we're into the final 20 minutes of F2 qualifying on a drying track. Medium-intensity rain fell during F3 qualifying, and while there are still spots around the track, the asphalt is largely dry. The kerbs need a little bit of added respect for the moment, however.
If you've been away between the sessions, welcome back for the build-up to FP2. Max Verstappen was the quickest driver in FP1, with Hamilton and Leclerc second and third. It was a tough session for Mercedes however, with the Silver Arrows needing to bounce back and show some pace in the coming hour.
A red flag early in F2 as Noel Leon clips the kerb at the top of Eau Rouge and spins. In a moment of odd genius, Leon put it in reverse and bump-started his car. Reversing around the track, however, might catch the race director's attention.
Noted as the cause of the red flag, his best time in the session may be deleted.
Weather watch - this may become a regular segment! Rain continues to fall, but it's not all too heavy. Sector one is the worst bit, but all the drivers are using super-soft slick tyres for the moment as F2 qualifying starts.
Who says that motorsport can't be art? Might be time to go and rewatch a certain Top Gear episode where the trio took over an art gallery.
And the red flag session-ending madness. It smacked of a series of rookie errors. Lots of penalties will be incoming for various infractions there.
Even more umbrellas, and F3 qualifying will not be resumed after the crash. Audi junior Freddie Slater takes back-to-back F3 feature race pole positions as a result.
Keeping an eye on the rain, it's coming down at a steady rate still. With no cars lapping, due to the red flag, the track will at least be damp now.
Oh dear. In all the searching for a tow, there was always going to be a collision. It's now happened, and damaged cars litter the track, which has been red flagged.
And witness the madness. There's a lot of sliding around, but unless things get a lot worse, this will have no impact on FP2 later on.
More rain appears to be on the way as per the screens, but the session has descended into madness, with the field bunching wildly on the Kemmel Straight. If anyone has watched F3 before, this is like a Monza qualifying session.
There's even a bit of spray coming up now in certain parts of the track. It seems to be worst around sector one.
Umbrellas up, as the rain falls. It's a lot heavier now!
We wouldn't normally focus on F3 qualifying, but the wet weather tyres are being readied. The circuit is nowhere near wet enough for those now, but if it suddenly buckets it down, everything will change.
Remember that 20% chance of rain for FP1? Well, the rain has just hit as F3 qualifying begins. It's only spitting right now, but it's getting heavier.
Plenty of times were deleted due to track limits violations during the session. Sainz demonstrates one of the key areas of the track and how not to do it.
Given the length of the track, getting an early banker in during qualifying will be crucial before pushing the boundaries.
Max Verstappen topped first practice at the Belgian Grand Prix.
The Dutchman led the way with a 1m17.070s effort, putting him clear of Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
Max Verstappen led the Ferraris in opening practice at the Belgian Grand Prix, while Mercedes was off the pace.
Four-time world champion Verstappen, whose future has been the hot topic in the F1 paddock going into the weekend, was 0.145 seconds faster than Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari on the soft tyres, with team-mate Charles Leclerc 0.207s back in third during a dry first practice at Spa-Francorchamps.
P2 and 3 for Ferrari. Could the battle on Sunday really be fought between Verstappen and Ferrari?
A straight bat from Mercedes, but this will be a concerning result.
A strong session, and a signal of intent, from Red Bull at Spa.
Highlighting the problem for Aston Martin. Stroll is three seconds behind Cadillac driver Perez.
You have to wonder how a single upgrade, however big it may be, can close that chasm.
Red Bull and Ferrari will be very happy with that session, but Mercedes especially will be scratching their heads, and looking for answers between sessions.
After the first hour of action, the top 10 in FP1 are:
The flag falls on FP1 and Colapinto is the only driver improving.