Formula 1 leader Oscar Piatri drove the fastest round by far the fastest round before the Grand Prix of Belgium.
On the demanding tradition of Spa-Francorchamps, the McLaren driver clearly landed in front of world champion Max Verstappen in 1: 42.022 minutes.
The Dutchman was 0.404 seconds behind the sovereign Australian in the Red Bull. The British Lando Norris headed to third place in his McLaren.
After his sensational third place in Silverstone, Nico Hülkenberg did not go as desired for the start in the Ardennes. The only German driver in the field had to be satisfied with the 14th place in the kick-Sauber. The 37-year-old Rhinelander was almost a second and a half behind Piatri.
World Cup points already in the sprint on Saturday
Not far from the German border, the third sprint weekend of the season is held in Belgium. Already on Saturday (12 p.m.) over 100 kilometers of World Cup points will be awarded, on Sunday (3 p.m./both Sky) it is about the more important victory in the Grand Prix.
Before the 13th of 24 seasonals, Piatri leads the overall ranking in front of his team -mate Norris. The four -time Champion Verstappen already has 69 points behind Piatri as the third.