Verstappen edges Hamilton by a tenth to lead Ferrari-Red Bull battle in Belgian GP practice

Max Verstappen led a tightly contested opening practice session at the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday, topping the timesheets at Spa-Francorchamps with a 1m47.070s — just 0.145 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton. Leclerc slotted into third, splitting the two Red Bulls as Isack Hadjar completed the top four.

The session opened with the Red Bull pair trading fastest laps through the first 20 minutes, Verstappen on medium tyres and Hadjar on softs. Hadjar briefly held the advantage before Verstappen switched to softs and pulled 0.252s clear of his team-mate, the RB22 finding particular strength through the middle sector of the Spa layout.

Hamilton’s best effort came on his second run on soft tyres, bringing Ferrari within touching distance of the Red Bull pace. Leclerc was a further half-tenth back, meaning the two constructors were separated by fractions across the top four positions.

Oscar Piastri was fifth for McLaren, 0.452s off the benchmark, though the Australian’s session ended with a scare in the final minutes when he was instructed to stop the car. Piastri was ultimately able to return his MCL40 to the garage after the team confirmed sufficient hydraulic pressure remained.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was sixth in the Mercedes, a tenth behind Piastri, with Lando Norris and George Russell rounding out the top eight. Arvid Lindblad was ninth for Racing Bulls — the first driver outside a second of Verstappen’s time — and was trialling a new squarer roll-hoop intake design, while team-mate Liam Lawson retained the existing half-circle configuration in 11th.

Gabriel Bortoleto was 10th, just ahead of Lawson, with Nico Hülkenberg 12th and more than half a second adrift of his team-mate.

Aston Martin appear to face a difficult weekend at Spa. Lance Stroll was classified 21st, a substantial 5.7 seconds off the pace and three seconds behind Valtteri Bottas in the Cadillac. Jak Crawford, the sole FP1 rookie in the session, finished at the foot of the timing sheet.

Verstappen’s benchmark was notably five seconds slower than the practice record set at this circuit in 2025, though the competitive order at the front suggests Red Bull and Ferrari are primed for a close contest as the weekend develops.