Oscar Piastri improved upon his lap times to come out fastest in the F1 Practice session, with a time of 1:42.022. His McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, finished five-tenths of a second behind, while Max Verstappen placed second at four-tenths behind the Australian. We’ve compiled all the key moments from the first F1 session of the weekend at the Belgian GP.
New Red Bull Team Lead Takes Charge
The drama was already high in the paddock at the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps as some reshuffling had happened since the last race in Silverstone. After Christian Horner’s dismissal from Red Bull, Laurent Mekies was promoted to the Team Principal position. This F1 practice marked the first session not being helmed by Horner in twenty years.
The first big decision was tyre choice, as Red Bull and Haas were the only teams to run on medium compounds. It paid off as Verstappen topped the timesheet, half a second faster than everyone else on track.
Car Set Up Key with Less Practice Time
The Belgian GP is the third Sprint weekend of this season, making this the only hour of practice the teams and drivers will get. To make it even more challenging, the morning had been misty and overcast with rain forecast for the weekend. However, the blue skies came out, leaving no chance to try out intermediate or wet compound tyres on a dry track.
It was disastrous from the beginning for Williams, as Carlos Sainz experienced yet another reliability issue, sending the car into “limp mode” immediately from the pit exit. The Spaniard had no choice but to slowly drive around the whole circuit to bring it back to the garage, wasting a precious thirty minutes. Lance Stroll was another who remained in the Aston Martin garage with mechanics and engineers frantic to resolve the issue before also coming out late in the session.
Lock Ups and Bumpy Rides
Ferrari introduced a new rear suspension in their cars to enhance floor improvements. Unfortunately, both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had moments skirting on the edge and off the track. The data will prove helpful in correcting the issue, but they are under pressure to make adjustments before the Sprint Qualifying. Isack Hadjar had a big moment coming through Eau Rouge, commenting on “something broken” back over the radio.
Kimi Antonelli and Franco Colapinto had a few lock-ups and flat-spotted their tyres just before the halfway point. Colapinto also got in the way of George Russell, the Mercedes car having no choice but to go on the grass to miss him. The incident was noted, but the FIA stewards conducted no further investigation. The Alpine driver faces the added pressure this weekend of securing a more permanent position in the team, with his fate most likely to be decided as we enter the summer break.
Fifteen Minutes Left
Hadjar had a moment to shut his eyes while waiting in the paddock. Meanwhile, Piastri and Norris were pushing the hard tyres to their limit. Could this be McLaren’s race strategy for Sunday? They have some interesting data to examine in the hope that the conditions favour them. Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu, however, commented that hard tyres would hurt their chances over the weekend. Both of their drivers stayed on medium and soft compounds for the whole session.
Stroll decided to take the soft compounds for a spin, jumping to the top of the leaderboard. Suddenly, more drivers were seen sporting the red-ringed tyre, and the flying lap times began to come in. Oliver Bearman found himself in the gravel, but managed to rejoin the track.
FP1 Top Ten
Limited runs on a Sprint weekend mean there is less data available to the teams before the Spring Qualifying session. The weather is a huge factor, as always, as well as utilising correct downforce and tyre management strategies. Can Piastri come back after being disappointed with his second-place result in Silverstone? Or is the new Red Bull era the turning point the team needs for their 2025 season? We’ll be keeping a close eye on the track and the skies as the weekend continues.