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Kimi Antonelli topped Free Practice 2 for the Belgian Grand Prix, putting Mercedes ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in a session shaped by two red flags and a late crash for Pierre Gasly.
The result strengthens the early impression that Mercedes has competitive pace at Spa-Francorchamps. Antonelli, who leads the Drivers’ standings by 25 points, occupied the top of the timing screens for much of the hour and ultimately set the benchmark at 1m 45.944s.
The session followed Max Verstappen’s FP1-leading performance at Spa, but the afternoon’s dry and sunny conditions produced a different order at the front. Rain showers had fallen between the two Friday sessions, yet the track was completely dry when the pit lane opened at 17:00 local time.
Most drivers went out immediately on the medium tyre. Antonelli’s opening 1m 46.911s was already quicker than Verstappen’s FP1 session-best, while the Red Bull driver initially found himself behind the Mercedes and several rivals. Charles Leclerc, Norris and George Russell were also among the early contenders, although Lewis Hamilton ran deep at the final chicane and sat ninth.
Russell struggled to match his team-mate throughout the session. His second effort left him more than a second slower, while he later improved only to seventh during the qualifying simulations. “The rears felt too cold, but not 1.2s cold,” Russell reported over team radio.
Hadjar was the first driver to switch to the soft tyre after the opening stoppage and briefly moved to the top with a 1m 46.714s. Verstappen and Antonelli then improved, with Antonelli becoming the first driver under the 1m 46s barrier. Norris subsequently moved into second, two-tenths behind the Mercedes.
The first stoppage came after Verstappen ran wide and dragged gravel onto the circuit near Turn 14. The second arrived in the final 15 minutes when Gasly crashed heavily at Turn 13, bringing his Alpine to a halt with substantial rear damage.
Although the track reopened with two minutes remaining, there were no further improvements. Antonelli therefore led Norris and Verstappen, followed by Hamilton, Isack Hadjar and Oscar Piastri. Franco Colapinto was seventh ahead of Russell, while Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson completed the top 10.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.