Hamilton at Spa
Hamilton at Spa
© XPB Images
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F1 Belgian GP LIVE: Ferrari race to fix Lewis Hamilton's car for qualifying

Live coverage of Saturday 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; Antonelli in FP2 and FP3

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.

Verstappen initially led the way on Friday, before Antonelli unlocked pace in his Mercedes in the second session, with it appearing as though there is little to separate the top four teams on single-lap pace.

Lando Norris, Isack Hadjar, and Lance Stroll have already had grid penalties confirmed for taking power unit components beyond the pre-set limits, with Fernando Alonso joining this number on Saturday morning.

2026 Belgian Grand Prix Saturday schedule

FP3 11:30am BST - 12:30pm BST

Qualifying: 3:00pm BST - 4:00pm BST

18 Jul 2026
11:34

With teams generally having two sets of tyres to burn in FP3, running is often limited, with no one wanting to be the first driver out on the track. But speaking of this, here come Colapinto, Bottas, Perez, and Hadjar. 

11:30
Green light for FP3

The session is go, and the track remains silent. 

11:30

Unlike yesterday, there is a 0% chance of rain across the coming hour. 

11:26

The music has played, the timing screens have lit up, and we're ready for final practice at the Belgian Grand Prix. Grab a drink and get comfortable! 

11:23

Gasly ended Friday in the barriers with a snap of oversteer carrying a heavy penalty. This was the reaction in the Alpine garage, but all seems ok for the coming session. We'll find out soon if he has avoided a grid penalty with new power unit parts and a gearbox potentially needed in the repair work. 

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11:20

A difficult day yesterday for Russell, and a difficult morning too, as the paddock gates try to block his access. Is all of his bad luck out of the way for the weekend now?

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11:18

15 minutes until the action begins again, so let's take a look at what the teams have been saying across social media. 

 

11:09

We might not be quite over the defeat to Argentina yet, but Alonso is certainly ready for when Spain take them on in the World Cup final. Norris seemed to end the game quite quickly though, with his less-than-silky touch. 

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11:01

Highlighting the impact that Antonelli is having on F1 in Italy, MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi has weighed in on whether he would like to see his countryman or Ferrari succeed most.

Full story here...

Valentino Rossi, VR46, 2026 Catalan MotoGP
Valentino Rossi, VR46, 2026 Catalan MotoGP
© Gold and Goose
10:50

Aston Martin is 'enjoying' its final weekend before the team gets hold of a major upgrade package in Hungary. It's safe to safe that the times this weekend have been underwhelming at best, but this is what was expected ahead of what the team predicted to be the 'toughest weekend of the season'.

Over five seconds off the pace on Friday, a gap that was approaching seven seconds at one point, this might be a parody prediction, but its far closer to the truth than Aston Martin would like. 

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10:45

There was, however, a flashpoint involving the Italian, as he became frustrated with Williams' driver Carlos Sainz. 

The Spaniard gives his side of things here...

Sainz was unimpressed with Antonelli
Sainz was unimpressed with Antonelli
10:42

In case you need a reminder of how things ended yesterday, here is the full report from FP2, where Antonelli proved irresistible at the top of the times, returning serve any time a rival came close to matching his effort. 

Full report here....

Antonelli set the pace in second practice
Antonelli set the pace in second practice
10:33
Good morning!

Good morning and welcome back to Spa-Francorchamps for qualifying day at the Belgian Grand Prix. Friday saw a mix of results, with Red Bull and Ferrari leading the way in FP1 before Mercedes and McLaren hit back in FP2. 

Could we be set for an eight-car battle for pole position around the 7km layout? Well, after one more hour of practice, we can prepare to get some answers. 

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