After British GP Crash, Verstappen Tops Belgian GP FP1!

The first free practice session of the thrilling 2026 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix took place at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit. All eyes were on Red Bull's star driver Max Verstappen following his consecutive high-speed crashes in Austria and Great Britain. The four-time world champion made a remarkable comeback in Belgium, dominating the one-hour dry opening session. On soft tyres, the Dutch driver set an impressive lap time of 1:47.070 to claim the top spot on the timesheets.

Proving that he has completely put the unfortunate incident at Silverstone behind him, Verstappen started the race weekend with strong momentum. Red Bull also made a significant technical decision for this round, abandoning the experimental rear wing design seen in recent races and reverting to a more traditional rear wing setup better suited to Spa's high-speed demands.

His closest challengers throughout the session were the drivers from Italian giants Ferrari. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton showed excellent pace during his runs, clocking a 1:47.215 to finish just 0.145 seconds behind leader Verstappen in second place. His Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc followed closely behind, ending the session in third place just 0.207 seconds adrift of Hamilton, confirming the Scuderia's solid early form.

Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, who briefly led the session during the opening stages, finished fourth fastest overall. However, the French driver will start Sunday's race from the back of the grid due to multiple penalty-triggering power unit component changes. McLaren's Oscar Piastri recovered from a brief hydraulic pressure issue at Les Combes to take fifth place, while Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli rounded out the top six, finishing over half a second behind the leader. Track temperatures reached 43°C during the session, with ambient temperatures at 24°C.

Image: F1