Mercedes leads practice pace at Belgian Grand Prix as Red Bull and Ferrari face setbacks

Kimi Antonelli set the quickest lap in Formula 1's second practice for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, recording a 1:45.944, followed by Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. Antonelli also posted the fastest four-lap long run at 1:51.511, with Verstappen and George Russell completing similar runs.

Mercedes said the team made extensive changes between sessions, improving Antonelli's handling after he described the car as “edgy” in the first practice. Russell, who had a power issue in the earlier session, recovered for FP2 but remained slower on the straights, suggesting less efficient energy recovery compared with his teammate.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen completed the longest long run of the weekend, despite noting “unacceptable” gear-shift behavior that required a software adjustment. He said, “I’m always very sensitive to these things because I want to work on that and improve it,” and added that the issue improved later in the session.

McLaren driver Lando Norris described the car as “still very, very difficult to drive” but considered the team relatively competitive at Spa. Norris will start the race from ten places lower on the grid due to a penalty for exceeding his battery allocation.

Ferrari’s data remained incomplete after a red-flag stopped long runs; Charles Leclerc completed only one lap and Lewis Hamilton did not start his run. Team principal Frédéric Vasseur highlighted differing energy-deployment strategies, noting the team was slower on the early sector but quicker on the final straight compared with rivals.

Midfield teams also saw limited long-run data because of the interruption. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto said the team found some performance in the cooler conditions, while Racing Bulls remained close in the constructors’ standings.