13:26
A bizarre one, as the nose camera is flapping about on his Aston Martin. It's holding on by the cable as it flaps about wildly.
But he manages to return to the pits.
Verstappen at Spa
© XPB Images
F1 Belgian GP LIVE: Antonelli tops FP2 after heavy crash for Gasly
Live coverage of Friday at the F1 Belgian Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Norris, Hadjar and Stroll take grid penalties
- Red Bull ditch 'Macarena' wing after Verstappen crash
- Verstappen fastest in FP1
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
17 Jul 2026
13:25
Session over for Bortoleto, who climbs out of his Audi in the garage with five minutes remaining. He's in 10th place at the moment, so has enjoyed a strong session.
13:20
Longer runs are in evidence right now, with few drivers improving. Stroll completes a timed lap, and is 5.738s off the pace. But with Hadjar starting at the back of the grid, at least only one of the cars will start on the back row. Small wins and all that.
13:14
Verstappen is a man on a mission so far, and his 1m47.070s is yet to be matched.
13:13
Back down the order go Mercedes, as Ferrari complete a soft tyre run. Hamilton goes second, with Leclerc third. Antonelli is currently half a second back on Verstappen.
13:07
A huge lock-up for Sainz into La Source. That will be an uncomfortable ride for the rest of the session.
13:04
Turning to the Aston Martins, Stroll is 6.5s off the pace. Crawford is 8.1s back. At least this car will be in the bin for Hungary, when a major upgrade is expected to land.
13:02
Top 10
Halfway through the session, the top 10 are:
- Verstappen
- Hadjar
- Antonelli
- Russell
- Hamilton
- Leclerc
- Lindblad
- Norris
- Bortoleto
- Lawson
13:01
P4 for Russell, but he may have lifted before the line to mask his pace.
Verstappen now goes top once more, with a 1m47.070s. Red Bull is finding most of its time in the middle sector.
13:00
A very odd one from Sainz there, who will be investigated after the session for crossing the line on pit entry. He went to the right of the bollard and was technically in the pit lane, but cat across the runoff to return to the track.
The Spaniard blamed his gearbox, but even still, he should have continued into the pit lane.
12:58
Welcome to the party, Mercedes. Antonelli puts in a 1m47.603s, to better Hadjar by 0.175s.
12:57
P11 for Norris on his first effort, but Antonelli is on a hot lap too, and has set purple sectors.
12:57
On his first timed effort, Norris has continued on soft tyres. It really does feel like there is an expectation of more power unit components to come on Sunday.
12:54
We already knew about Norris' 10-place penalty and suspected Hadjar's back-of-the-grid, but Stroll's penalty is 10 places, after he took a new MGU-K for his Aston Martin.
12:52
Grid penalties have been confirmed for Hadjar and Stroll, with both taking new power unit components. More on that as we get it.
12:48
Back to the pits for Antonelli as he bails on the lap, having dropped to 10th place. It's two-by-two at the front, with Red Bull leading Ferrari leading Racing Bulls.
12:47
Hadjar moves back to the top, with a 1m47.778s on his used softs.
Antonelli is starting his latest effort, but it's no better in the first sector. However, Lindblad in fifth IS improving.
12:45
Norris on softs. Maybe he will be taking further new parts to add to his pool this weekend.
12:44
An early one-two for Red Bull. Verstappen always goes well at Spa, and this is a very strong start.
12:42
Antonelli has also now found some time and is up to fifth place, but he remains behind the Red Bull and Ferrari pairings. It's very early, but Mercedes will be concerned if this trend continues.
12:40
In the early times, the pace of Racing Bulls is again impressive. Currently, Lindblad is fifth, and Lawson is seventh, this after Verstappen moved to the top with a 1m48.237s.
12:39
Back into the pits for Norris. They'll remove the rakes, and he will be back out soon for a more regular run.
12:36
Out comes Norris, and all 22 drivers are now on the track. Aero rakes are fixed to the rear of his McLaren.
12:36
A 1m50.654s is Russell's first time, but he is quickly bettered by Hamilton, and then Verstappen.
Now Hadjar moves to the top with a 1m48.918s effort. However, that was set on softs, while the rest were on mediums.
Hadjar is expected to take a back-of-the-grid penalty with a significant PU change, so he may not need these tyres on Saturday.
12:34
Sainz and Albon return to the pits after completing installation laps. Most other drivers continue on. Only Norris is yet to take to the track.