Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps

Image source, Getty Images

Alpine's Pierre Gasly caused a red flag with a heavy crash in Friday practice at the Belgian Grand Prix as Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli set out his stall for the weekend with the fastest time.

Gasly lost control on the exit of the Fagnes medium-speed chicane in the middle sector and clipped the barrier, tearing off his right rear wheel.

The incident cut short the race-simulation runs in the final part of the session and will lead to a long night for Gasly's team.

Antonelli, meanwhile, started the weekend as if he was determined to turn around the decline in his fortunes in which team-mate George Russell has cut his championship lead from 68 points to 25 over the last three races.

The 19-year-old Italian was 0.190 seconds quicker than McLaren's Lando Norris in second place - and a massive 1.285secs quicker than Russell.

"Rears [tyres] felt too cold, sliding a lot," Russell said over the team radio during the session. "But not 1.2 seconds cold."

• Read Andrew's full report here

Time for us to wrap up Friday practice, I don't know about you but I need an ice lolly in the sun!

Join us again tomorrow at 11:15 BST for FP3.

Lights out for third practice at 11:30 BST and qualifying gets under way at 15:00.

Join us then, bye for now!

The weather forecast has predicted a 4-7% chance of rain for third practice.

Qualifying will have a 8-9% chance of rain.

The numbers are quite low but could play a part in how the grid lines up for Sunday's race.

As a reminder, three drivers will have a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday's race.

They are Lando Norris, Isack Hadjar and Lance Stroll.

Max Verstappen was the fastest driver in first practice and Kimi Antonelli took the top of the leadrboard in second practice.

There is just one more practice session left on Saturday before qualifying.

Could the four-time world champion take pole? Or will it be the championship leader to start the race at the front?

Seeing the pair line up at the front of the grid for Sunday's race will be interesting.

Why won't the Max Verstappen rumours go away? And is F1 really considering bringing back mid-race refuelling? Andrew Benson, Harry Benjamin and Jolyon Palmer get stuck into those topics and more as they look ahead to the Belgian Grand Prix.

They also hear from Oscar Piastri, who says there's still belief at McLaren that they can turn their season around. Plus, should Formula 1 come up with a solution to stop races finishing behind the safety car?

You can listen to the Chequered Flag podcast above or via the BBC Sounds app.

11. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

12. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

13. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)

14. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

15. Alex Albon (Williams)

16. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

17. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)

18. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

19. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)

20. Sergio Perez (Cadillac)

21. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

22. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 1:45.944

2. Lando Norris (McLaren)

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

5. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)

6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

7. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

8. George Russell (Mercedes)

9. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)

10. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

All the cars have lined up on the pit lane, there's about two minutes left on the clock, enough time to put in a decent lap.

Pierre Gasly's car has been lifted and popped on the back of a truck. Another tractor has chugged along to blow the gravel off the track.

There is a lot of debris to clear up and just nine minutes left on the clock.

Will there be one more run in FP2?

The TV camera has just zoomed in to two kids playing the card game Uno - if it is anything like how my sister and I play, it may end in tears.

Pit exit is now closed. Before the crash, Oscar Piastri had completed seven laps, the fewest in his McLaren in this session.

On the other end, Max Verstappen clocked in 17 laps, the most so far.

Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator

That is a big hit for Pierre Gasly! The Alpine driver has lost the rear wing and there is debris spewed all over the track on the approach to Stavelot.

Red flagpublished at 16:46 BST

16:46 BST

Oh no, Pierre Gasly's Alpine is not looking in good shape.

He ran wide onto the gravel and hits the barriers, losing the rear wing.

Gasly tried to continue to get his car back to the pit lane, but did not get far.

Everyone else returns to the pit lane while the stewards sweep away the debris.

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

2. Lando Norris (McLaren)

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

5. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)

Pierre Gasly's Alpine runs off the track and gets his lap time deleted.

Lando Norris was in the McLaren garage but is now driving down the pit lane to join the rest out on the circuit.

Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator

There will be a bit of questioning going on for George Russell down at Mercedes. To be that far off team-mate Kimi Antonelli, surely there must be some issue? He is not 1.2 seconds slower than Antonelli.

It sounds like George Russell is not having a good session so far.

The Mercedes man is currently in seventh, while his team-mate Kimi Antonelli is at the top of the leaderboard.

"Rear [tyres] far too cold, sliding a lot. But not 1.2 seconds cold."