Max Verstappen led a balanced first free practice at Spa-Francorchamps, which again featured Racing Bulls among the protagonists, Ferrari and Mercedes close to the leaders, good performance from Gabriel Bortoleto, and mechanical problems for McLaren in the final stretch of the session.
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Max Verstappen was the fastest in the first free practice for the Belgian Grand Prix of Formula 1, held this Friday at Spa-Francorchamps. The Red Bull driver clocked 1min47s070 and led a very busy session, marked by the debut of important updates in some teams, constant alternation in the lead, and a solid performance from Gabriel Bortoleto, who finished in tenth place after standing out throughout almost the entire activity. McLaren, on the other hand, ended the practice surrounded by concerns after problems faced by Oscar Piastri in the final minutes.
The weekend started with important news in the paddock. McLaren debuted a new engine specification, as well as a revised rear wing, while Red Bull abandoned the wing used in recent races, informally known as the “macarena.” Ferrari chose to keep the same technical package used in previous rounds, being one of the few teams that arrived at Spa without aerodynamic updates.
Even before the green flag, the race direction confirmed that Isack Hadjar and Lando Norris will start from the back of the grid on Sunday for exceeding the allowed limit of power unit components. Another highlight of the start of the day was the participation of Jak Crawford, who replaced Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin as part of the regulatory requirement to use rookie drivers in the first free practices.
Unlike usual in a FP1, practically the entire grid left the pits as soon as the session started. After the traditional installation laps, Sergio Pérez recorded the first timed lap of the weekend, starting an activity in which the track improved rapidly with each lap.
In the first minutes, Racing Bulls surprised. Hadjar put the team in provisional lead, followed by Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, reinforcing the excellent moment the team has been experiencing in recent rounds. The team’s competitiveness caught attention again, positioning itself very close to the main championship forces.
Gabriel Bortoleto also started the weekend in excellent rhythm. Still using hard tires, the Brazilian quickly entered the top 10 and showed consistent speed from his first flying laps. At one point, he opened almost seven tenths advantage over Nico Hülkenberg, making it clear that Audi found a good setup for the Belgian circuit.
Even when Antonelli had a lap deleted for exceeding track limits and also escaped an incident after a close move by Carlos Sainz, Bortoleto kept improving. First he rose to ninth, before recording an excellent lap in 1min49s240 that took him to fifth place. The Brazilian was, by far, the fastest among all drivers using hard tires, managing to put an impressive 1.2 seconds over Hülkenberg.
With approximately half the session completed, teams returned to the pits for the first adjustments and started the qualifying simulation phase using soft tires. Antonelli was the first to take the lead with 1min47s603, but quickly lost the position to Hadjar, who again showed the potential of Racing Bulls by opening almost three tenths over the Mercedes driver.
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Red Bull’s response came immediately. Verstappen took advantage of his first attempt with soft tires to mark 1min47s070, definitively taking the lead of the session. Ferrari and Mercedes remained close, while Charles Leclerc recorded the best second sector before moving up to third with 1min47s277. Oscar Piastri also found performance in McLaren and jumped to fifth position after appearing only mid-table for much of the practice.
Bortoleto also performed his first simulation with soft tires and showed competitiveness again. With 1min48s406, he advanced to eighth and again surpassed Hülkenberg, this time by more than half a second. The performance reinforced the Brazilian’s good start to the weekend, repeating the good adaptation he had already shown at Spa last season.
In the final part of the practice, however, the teams’ priority changed completely. Drivers began to do longer stints with higher fuel loads to evaluate race pace and tire degradation. Verstappen even reported over the radio that his medium tires, already with 14 laps of use, were starting to “crumbly,” an important indication for the strategies that may be adopted in Sunday’s race.
Even with some drivers managing small improvements — like Norris, Lawson, Bearman, Colapinto, and Ocon – the classification practically stabilized. Bortoleto ended the practice in tenth position, staying among the top ten despite the improvements of rivals and again holding an advantage over Hülkenberg for most of the session.
The final minutes still reserved some moments of concern. Oscar Piastri was ordered to stop the car immediately due to a problem considered critical, although he managed to slowly return to the track. Shortly after, McLaren again instructed the Australian to drive at low speed to the pits due to a hydraulic failure. At Audi, Bortoleto also drew attention by not returning to the track to perform the traditional start tests after the checkered flag, raising suspicions of a possible problem with the car, although the team has not yet confirmed any occurrence.
With no significant changes in the final moments, Verstappen confirmed the lead of the first free practice at Spa-Francorchamps, followed by Hadjar and Leclerc. Racing Bulls impressed again with their competitiveness, Ferrari and Mercedes showed good pace, while Gabriel Bortoleto started the weekend with a consistent performance, standing among the protagonists for much of the session and closing the day inside the top 10.
Check the result of FP1 of the Belgian GP:
1) Max Verstappen (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford), 1’47.070
2) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), 1’47.215
3) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 1’47.277
4) Isack Hadjar (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford), 1’47.322
5) Oscar Piastri (McLaren/Mercedes), 1’47.522
6) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), 1’47.603
7) Lando Norris (McLaren/Mercedes), 1’47.931
8) George Russell (Mercedes), 1’47.959
9) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford), 1’48.234
10) Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), 1’48.406
11) Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford), 1’48.432
12) Nico Hülkenberg (Audi), 1’48.962
13) Oliver Bearman (Haas/Ferrari), 1’49.010
14) Alexander Albon (Williams/Mercedes), 1’49.337
15) Franco Colapinto (Alpine/Mercedes), 1’49.403
16) Esteban Ocon (Haas/Ferrari), 1’49.449
17) Pierre Gasly (Alpine/Mercedes), 1’49.712
18) Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac/Ferrari), 1’49.839
19) Sergio Pérez (Cadillac/Ferrari), 1’50.226
20) Carlos Sainz (Williams/Mercedes), 1’50.862
21) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin/Honda), 1’52.808
22) Jak Crawford (Aston Martin/Honda), 1’53.199
Read more Belgian GP 2026: live coverage of F1 Free Practice 1 at Spa-Francorchamps
