FP1: Verstappen pips Ferrari duo to set benchmark in opening Spa practice

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen set the benchmark time in the opening sixty-minute practice session at the Belgian Grand Prix, fractionally beating the Ferrari duo of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

Max Verstappen set the pace in the opening practice session for the 2026 Formula One Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, putting Red Bull back at the top of the timesheets for the first time this season.

The four-time world champion posted the fastest lap of a dry FP1, finishing 0.145 seconds clear of Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari. Charles Leclerc completed the top three, 0.207s behind Verstappen, as Ferrari immediately looked competitive around the iconic Belgian circuit.

The result also marked the first practice session of the year to be topped by a car powered by neither a Mercedes nor a Ferrari engine.

Red Bull arrived at Spa with a significant aerodynamic change after a difficult run in recent races. The team abandoned its experimental "Macarena" rear wing in favour of a more conventional design following Verstappen's high-speed rear wing failures at both the Austrian and British Grands Prix.

Ferrari split the two Red Bulls, with Isack Hadjar ending the session fourth, just 0.252s off the pace. Although the rookie showed encouraging speed, he faces a challenging weekend after taking multiple new power unit components that will send him to the back of Sunday's starting grid.

Oscar Piastri climbed to fifth in the closing minutes despite suffering a hydraulic pressure issue late in the session. The McLaren driver briefly stopped at Les Combes before managing to limp his car back to the pits.

Mercedes endured a subdued start to the weekend, with championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli finishing sixth, over half a second slower than Verstappen.

Reigning champion Lando Norris was seventh in the second McLaren, while George Russell could manage only eighth, ending the session 0.889s adrift of the benchmark.

Norris also has a difficult race ahead after McLaren fitted his car with a new control electronics unit, resulting in a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday's Grand Prix.

Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad impressed by taking ninth place, while Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the top ten for Audi despite missing the closing stages of the session because of a technical issue.

At the foot of the order, Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and reserve driver Jak Crawford occupied the final two positions. Crawford was driving in place of Fernando Alonso as part of the team's rookie programme, while Stroll's session ended with a trip through the gravel that damaged his AMR26 and left an onboard camera hanging loose from the car.