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Max Verstappen delivered the fastest lap during the opening practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix, finishing ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton at Spa-Francorchamps. The Red Bull driver posted a time that left him 0.145 seconds clear of Hamilton, while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc completed the top three after another encouraging session for the Italian team.
Red Bull also enjoyed a strong showing from Isack Hadjar, who recorded the fourth-fastest time, just 0.252 seconds behind Verstappen. However, the French driver received a major setback after being handed a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding the season's permitted allocation of power unit components.
Hadjar is not the only driver facing a grid drop this weekend. World champion Lando Norris will also start 10 places lower than where he qualifies after using more energy storage units than regulations allow. Despite the penalty, Norris managed the seventh-fastest lap during the session for McLaren.
Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli continued his impressive form by finishing sixth, one place behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri. Championship rival and teammate George Russell ended the session in eighth, trailing Antonelli by 0.356 seconds. Antonelli currently leads the drivers' standings by 25 points as the championship approaches its midpoint, although the calendar could still be affected by uncertainty surrounding the final races in the Middle East.
Verstappen's strong performance came despite Red Bull returning to its original rear wing specification. The team has temporarily abandoned its experimental design while engineers continue refining the concept following the high-speed crashes Verstappen experienced during the previous two race weekends. The older wing, which operates in a more conventional drag reduction style, is estimated to be around two-tenths of a second slower per lap at Spa than the newer version. Red Bull is expected to reintroduce the updated design at next weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.
The 60-minute practice session passed without any major incidents. Liam Lawson had the closest scare after running slightly wide following a moment of oversteer at Stavelot early in the session. Later, Oscar Piastri encountered a hydraulic pressure problem, forcing the McLaren driver to crawl back to the pits with just a minute remaining before the chequered flag.
