FP2: Antonelli tops second Spa practice as Mercedes-powered cars dominate track action

Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli dominated the second one-hour practice session at the Belgian Grand Prix, beating McLaren's reigning champion Lando Norris and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.

Formula 1 championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli restored Mercedes to the top of the timesheets during a disrupted second practice session at the Belgian Grand Prix, while his team-mate and title rival George Russell endured a difficult afternoon at Spa-Francorchamps.

After Max Verstappen had set the pace for Red Bull in Friday’s opening practice session, Mercedes responded strongly in FP2 as Antonelli delivered a standout lap to underline the team’s competitiveness at the legendary Belgian circuit.

The Italian teenager finished 0.190 seconds clear of reigning world champion Lando Norris, who was second fastest despite carrying a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race after McLaren fitted a new control electronics unit to his MCL40.

Verstappen completed the top three, ending the session 0.472 seconds behind Antonelli’s benchmark, while Lewis Hamilton was once again the leading Ferrari driver in fourth place.

However, the seven-time world champion was still 0.747s slower than the Mercedes driver, highlighting Ferrari’s ongoing struggles for outright pace at Spa-Francorchamps. Charles Leclerc endured an even more challenging session, finishing outside the top 10 in 11th position.

While Antonelli enjoyed a productive session, Russell faced a far more complicated afternoon. The Briton could only manage eighth place, 1.285 seconds away from his team-mate’s pace, and appeared puzzled by Mercedes’ lack of performance.

“Rear [tyres] far too cold, sliding a lot. But not 1.2 seconds cold,” Russell reported over team radio, suggesting that tyre preparation and rear-end grip were major issues during his runs.

The second practice session was interrupted twice by red flags, limiting the teams’ opportunity to complete long-run evaluations and gather representative data ahead of qualifying and the race.

The first stoppage came after a Red Bull ran wide at Stavelot, throwing gravel onto the racing line after just 12 minutes of running. The second and more serious interruption was caused by Pierre Gasly, who crashed his Alpine in the final 15 minutes of the session.

Gasly lost control of the rear of his car while exiting the corner and ran through the gravel before making contact with the barriers. The impact heavily damaged the Alpine, removing the rear wing and right-rear wheel, while debris was scattered across the circuit near Stavelot. The incident brought the session to a premature halt and further reduced valuable running time for the teams.

Behind the leading trio, Isack Hadjar produced an impressive performance to finish fifth for Racing Bulls, despite knowing he will start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid following Red Bull’s decision to make extensive power unit changes to his car.

Oscar Piastri was sixth after losing early track time due to a hydraulic issue that affected his McLaren at the end of FP1. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto took seventh place, ahead of Russell, while Racing Bulls completed the top 10 with Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson.

At the other end of the order, Cadillac and Aston Martin struggled for performance. Lance Stroll was the fastest of the group, finishing ahead of Fernando Alonso, while both teams remained near the bottom of the timesheets throughout the session.