Born in Belgium, Max Verstappen secured the best time at his home Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps. Verstappen mastered the Ardennes circuit, which has been modernized since 2021, in 1:45.507 minutes, putting Charles Leclerc (Ferrari / +0.862) and Lando Norris (McLaren / +1.082) in second place.
How much the Friday best time in Spa, where the weather is often changeable, means, is difficult to assess. The fact is: Verstappen’s pace seems to have made a lasting impression on Leclerc. When the Ferrari driver was given the lap time of his World Championship rival on the pit radio, he said sheepishly: “Oh, okay. 45.5. That’s fast.”
In any case, neither of them will get involved in the fight for pole position. Both Verstappen and Leclerc slip down the starting grid because of a component change. Lando Norris (3rd/McLaren), Esteban Ocon (16th/Alpine), Valtteri Bottas (18th/Alfa Romeo) and Mick Schumacher (20th/Haas) also receive grid penalties.
Difficult conditions with partially wet track
The track was still damp in places after the rain that had set in at the end of the first practice session. Nevertheless, dry tires were used from the start. Difficult conditions for most teams to get the tires up to temperature. Even top riders like Sainz and Russell complained about cold rubber.
Problems that Aston Martin does not have in Spa: “We have no problems getting the tires up to temperature,” says team boss Mike Krack in an interview with “Sky”. “We even get up to temperature, regardless of whether we take care of the tires more at the beginning or more at the end of the warm-up lap.”
You could see that in the lap times: Lance Stroll (+1.128) confirmed his strong FT1 performance with fourth place, just ahead of Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Fernando Alonso (Alpine) and George Russell (Mercedes).
Vettel behind teammate Stroll
Sebastian Vettel couldn’t keep up with Stroll’s pace, at least on Friday. He finished 15th, 2.360s behind Verstappen and 1.232s behind his teammate.
Towards the end of the session, when the hunt for best times was long over and drivers and teams were trying to collect data for the race with used tires and high fuel loads, it started to rain again. This means that the long run times are less meaningful than usual this time.
In this phase with little grip, there were one or two slips. Hamilton tested the enlarged run-off area at the end of Eau Rouge, many other drivers were unable to keep the ideal line. And Mick Schumacher tobogganed through the gravel bed and then radioed: “Incredibly difficult to see where the wet spots are.”