Kimi Antonelli fastest in Belgian Grand Prix FP2 after second red flag for Pierre Gasly crash

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Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli ended FP2 as the fastest man on track, topping the timesheets in a red flag-laden session that saw a late stoppage due to Pierre Gasly’s crash at turn 13.

Max Verstappen set the pace during Friday afternoon’s FP1 session, which came as quite the surprise after Red Bull were reportedly forced to revert to an older specification of rear wing following safety concerns that emerged last time out in Silverstone.

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On the other side of the grid, Lance Stroll raised eyebrows for all of the wrong reasons. He ended FP1 nearly six seconds off the pace, and data showed that the AMR26 was as slow as a GT3 car upon his arrival into Les Combes after the 0.65-mile-long Kemmel straight.

FP1 also saw Carlos Sainz and Kimi Antonelli clash. The latter was unhappy with his rival’s dawdling on the racing line, labelling the Williams driver an “idiot”. Sainz was later rebuked by the stewards for a separate incident, where he appeared to cross the pit entry line.

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Kimi Antonelli sets the benchmark in FP2 at the Belgian Grand Prix

Despite a light shower of rain in between FP1 and FP2, the grid made their way onto the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on yellow-walled medium compound tyres, with Kimi Antonelli immediately besting Verstappen’s early afternoon benchmark with a 1:46.911.

A red flag was then thrown out after 10 minutes of action, with Verstappen’s skirmish into the gravel upon his entry into Stavelot hurling some unwanted stones onto the racing line at turn 14. The Dutchman held the third fastest time at that point, with Isack Hadjar ahead in P2.

The cars were back on track after a brief delay, which gave McLaren the perfect opportunity to get Oscar Piastri’s MCL40 in order as engineers continued to try and fix the hydraulic issue he faced in FP1. The Australian missed around 20 minutes of track time in the end.

The qualifying simulations came on the stroke of the midway point in FP2, and Antonelli laid down the gauntlet as he found another second worth of time on his initial run with the soft compound of tyres. The new benchmark was a 1:45.944.

Lando Norris quickly tried his hand at dethroning the young Italian as he got onto the red-walled rubber, clocking in a time that was just under two-tenths shy of Antonelli’s pace-setter, while Lewis Hamilton couldn’t get within seven-tenths of the Mercedes ace in P4.

Yet another red flag was brought out with 15 minutes to go after Pierre Gasly struck the barriers as he exited Les Fagnes chicane. Replays showed the Frenchman lose the rear end of his Alpine F1 car, with a trip to the gravel effectively ending his day of running.

The incident showered the circuit in debris, which resulted in a lengthy operation for the trackside marshals to remove the stricken carbon fibre. Running got back underway with just a minute left on the clock, with drivers heading back out to get in some practice laps.

Antonelli held the top spot as the timer ticked away, with Norris and Verstappen rounding out the top three. Hamilton and Hadjar completed the top five, while championship candidate George Russell could only muster the eighth fastest time of the hour-long session.

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Full FP1 timesheets at the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix