Kimi Antonelli, a driver for the Mercedes team, secured the fastest time in the second free practice session before the Belgian Grand Prix. He overtook defending champion Lando Norris of McLaren.
Practice Session Results
The 19-year-old Italian driver set the best lap time of 1 minute 45.944 seconds. This allowed him to pass Norris by 0.190 seconds. Max Verstappen, driving for Red Bull, finished third.
The four-time champion trailed the leader by 0.472 seconds after the team started using the traditional rear wing instead of the 'Macarena' wing, which was criticized and which Verstappen called dangerous. He had previously been involved in accidents at the Austrian and British Grands Prix but managed to return to action and post the best time in the first session on Friday.
Other Drivers' Positions
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton finished fourth for Ferrari, ahead of Isaac Hajar. Oscar Piastri from McLaren participated in the second Red Bull session, while Franco Colapinto took seventh place for Alpine.
George Russell placed eighth in the second Mercedes session, more than 1.2 seconds behind Antonelli. He was overtaken by Racing Bulls newcomer Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson, who dropped Charles Leclerc's position to eleventh in the second Ferrari session.
Session Interruptions and Dynamics
The practice session concluded after a lengthy stoppage due to a red flag when Pierre Gasly hit the barriers with his Alpine but remained unharmed. After light rain between sessions, Antonelli once again set the pace, posting 1:46.911, while Verstappen tried to close the gap to his time. A brief delay followed due to a red flag to clear gravel from the track.
After the session resumed, several drivers switched from soft tires to medium tires. Piastri rejoined the race after repairing his hydraulic system during qualifying simulation laps. Hajar quickly moved into first place on soft tires ahead of Verstappen, after which Antonelli regained the initiative, recording 1:45.944 and pulling away from his rivals by almost half a second.
End of Practice Day
Ferrari showed good results, as both drivers set the best times in the first and second parts of the lap. However, Hamilton finished third behind Verstappen and ahead of Hajar, trailing Antonelli by 0.747 seconds. Russell, who is 25 points behind his teammate in the title fight, attempted a lap on soft tires but was 1.285 seconds slower than the Italian flyer and finished sixth.
Like Russell, Piastri struggled to match his teammate, as Norris took second place with a time of 1:46.134, two tenths slower than the pace. The Australian driver, last year's winner, finished sixth, trailing by 0.982 seconds. With 15 minutes remaining, the session was suspended due to a red flag after Gasly lost control of his Alpine and hit the barriers at the Fangyi chicane. He was uninjured and exited the damaged car, which had lost its rear wing. The session was paused for 13 minutes, allowing the teams only two minutes of active action at the end of the session to complete the program and run several laps on the hilly grid.
