Kimi Antonelli puts Mercedes back on top in red-flagged F1 Belgian GP practice after Pierre Gasly crash

Formula 1 championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli put Mercedes back on top in a disrupted second practice at the Belgian Grand Prix, but team-mate George Russell struggled. 

Antonelli was 0.190 seconds clear of reigning world champion Lando Norris, who will serve a 10-place grid penalty after McLaren fitted a new control electronics unit in his MCL40, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen 0.472s adrift in third. 

Mercedes was off the pace as Verstappen topped opening practice at Spa-Francorchamps but a stunning lap from Antonelli restored F1’s status quo in a season that has so often seen the Silver Arrows leading the way. 

2026 F1 Belgian Grand Prix - Friday Practice Results

However, it was a tricky session for Antonelli’s Mercedes team-mate and title rival Russell, who lagged well behind the Italian teenager and ended up only eighth-fastest, 1.285s off the pace. 

Russell was clearly perplexed by the significant deficit, with the Briton radioing in to his Mercedes team to report: “Rear [tyres] far too cold, sliding a lot. But not 1.2 seconds cold.”

The second-hour of practice on Friday was disrupted by two red flags. The first was for gravel that was flicked onto the racing line by a Red Bull that ran wide at Stavelot after 12 minutes of running. 

Pierre Gasly brought out a second, longer red flag when he crashed in the final 15 minutes of FP2. The Frenchman lost control of the rear of his car and ran wide intro the gravel before striking a glancing blow with the barriers. 

The impact ripped off the rear wing on his Alpine, as well as the right-rear wheel and spewed debris all over the track on the approach to Stavelot. 

Lewis Hamilton was once again the fastest Ferrari driver in fourth, but the seven-time world champion was 0.747s behind Antonelli’s benchmark. His Ferrari team-mate, Charles Leclerc, finished outside of the top-10 in 11th.

Isack Hadjar, who will start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid with Red Bull opting to make wholesale changes to his power unit, was fifth, ahead of Oscar Piastri, who lost some early running as McLaren fixed a hydraulic problem that struck his MCL40 at the end of FP1. 

Franco Colapinto was seventh for Alpine, ahead of Russell, and the Racing Bulls pair of Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson, who rounded out the top-10. 

The rear of the field was made up of the two Cadillacs and Aston Martins, with Lance Stroll outpacing two-time world champion Fernando Alonso to avoid ending up slowest of all.