Max Verstappen dominated the first practice session ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, clocking a lap time half a second faster than his nearest rival, Oscar Piastri. The performance comes after Verstappen faced a 10-place grid penalty for adopting a new power unit.
The session began at 13:30 local time under dry conditions, with George Russell leading the charge onto the track. The early drama unfolded when Daniel Ricciardo spun at La Source, narrowly avoiding the barriers.
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Esteban Ocon’s session was cut short due to a suspected water leak, which was discovered after his Alpine was quickly put on jacks. Alpine is running a special Deadpool & Wolverine livery this weekend.
Verstappen set an early benchmark with a time of 1m 44.550s on hard tyres, initially leading Russell and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. The Silver Arrows hope for cooler weather to better suit their W15’s characteristics.
Midway through the session, several drivers switched to soft tyres. Russell briefly took the lead before Verstappen reclaimed it, outpacing him by eight-tenths.
Off the track, it was confirmed that both Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda will face grid penalties for new power unit components. This did not hinder Verstappen, whose fastest lap of 1m 43.372s remained unmatched. Meanwhile, Sergio Perez reported issues with his RB20 over the team radio.
Fernando Alonso also voiced concerns to his Aston Martin engineer about the car’s performance in the first sector. Despite this, Verstappen’s session remained smooth, and he maintained his lead with a 1m 43.372s lap.
Piastri in the McLaren followed half a second behind Verstappen, with Alex Albon in the Williams impressively third. Russell and Hamilton placed fourth and fifth for Mercedes, while Charles Leclerc secured sixth for Ferrari.
Perez finished seventh, continuing to face scrutiny after several challenging races. Lando Norris (McLaren), Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) completed the top ten.
Pierre Gasly of Alpine took 11th, followed by Alonso, Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber), and Logan Sargeant (Williams) in 12th to 15th. Tsunoda placed 16th, with the Haas drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen in 17th and 18th, respectively. Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber) was 19th, and Ocon did not return to the track due to his earlier reliability issues.
Belgian GP FP1 Results
2024 Belgian Grand Prix FP1, 26 July 2024
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:43.372 | 23 | |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 1:43.903 | +0.531s | 23 |
| 3 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 1:44.099 | +0.727s | 20 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:44.225 | +0.853s | 22 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:44.279 | +0.907s | 20 |
| 6 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:44.306 | +0.934s | 24 |
| 7 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:44.329 | +0.957s | 21 |
| 8 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 1:44.415 | +1.043s | 23 |
| 9 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:44.574 | +1.202s | 23 |
| 10 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:44.699 | +1.327s | 20 |
| 11 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 1:44.833 | +1.461s | 21 |
| 12 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:44.921 | +1.549s | 19 |
| 13 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB Honda RBPT | 1:44.950 | +1.578s | 22 |
| 14 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:45.155 | +1.783s | 20 |
| 15 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams Mercedes | 1:45.311 | +1.939s | 19 |
| 16 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT | 1:45.564 | +2.192s | 22 |
| 17 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | 1:45.645 | +2.273s | 18 |
| 18 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:45.812 | +2.440s | 18 |
| 19 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:45.995 | +2.623s | 22 |
| 20 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 1 |
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