Max Verstappen recorded the second fastest time in the first and only free practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday. The Dutchman clocked a lap of 1:42.426 at Spa-Francorchamps.
With that time, Verstappen nestled himself between McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, although the gap to the World Championship leader was considerable. Piastri recorded the fastest time with 1:42.022. Norris was half a second slower than his teammate in third place.
Verstappen has quite a few new parts on his Red Bull this weekend, including a new front wing. He was fast in the first and third sectors, but lost no less than eight tenths to Piastri in the second sector.
All the fast times were set on the soft tires at the end of the practice session. Before that, most drivers drove on the hard tires for a long time. It was the only practice in Belgium, because it is a sprint weekend.
Later on Friday is the qualifying for the sprint race, which takes place on Saturday. In Belgium, Verstappen will have to do without his regular race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. As in Austria, he will be replaced by the experienced engineer Simon Rennie.