Summary

  • Kimi Antonelli tops second practice at Belgian Grand Prix

  • Lando Norris second quickest and Max Verstappen third

  • George Russell finishes 1.285 seconds behind Mercedes team-mate Antonelli

  • Pierre Gasly crashes heavily towards end of session

  • Norris, Isack Hadjar and Lance Stroll each have 10-place grid penalties for Sunday's race at Spa-Francorchamps

  • Antonelli leads drivers' championship by 25 points from Russell

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Live Reporting

Tasnim Chowdhury

  1. Lando Norris is not in a rush to leave the McLaren garage.

    The reigning world champion is set to have a 10-place grid penalty on Sunday as a result of exceeding the permitted number of engine parts.

  2. Verstappen fastest

    Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton had put in a fast lap and jusmped up to the top of the leaderboard, but not for too long.

    Max Verstappen has arrived in his Red Bull and takes the top spot with a lap time of 1:48.237.

    The four-time world champion won in Spa consecutively between 2021 and 2023.

  3. Williams have been swapping around front wings between the two cars in their garage.

    Alex Albon is finally off to join the rest of the pack out on the track.

  4. Top 5

    1. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)

    2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

    3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

    4. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

    5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

  5. 'You can overtake at Spa'

    Rebecca Clancy
    F1 journalist on Sports Extra 2

    McLaren have said they have taken the grid penalty here for Lano Norris because you can overtake here.

    I remember a couple of years ago, during the Max Verstappen dominance era, where he had to take a grid penalty. He started 14th and I think by about lap five, he was up to eighth - and then he went on to win the race.

    You can actually go racing here.

  6. It looks like Williams' Alex Albon and McLaren's Lando Norris are the two drivers yet to join the circuit.

    Red Bull's Isack Hadjar has the the fastest lap in the early minutes of the session. It's a 1:48.918 for him.

    He is the only driver on the soft tyres.

  7. Fernando Alonso has his sunnies on while sat on the pitwall. He's hopped out of the driver's seat to let rookie Jak Crawford take the Aston Martin for a spin.

  8. The 60-minute clock has begun its countdown and the first lot of cars have exited the pit lane.

    Lewis Hamilton gets away on the circuit in the Ferrari. Of the current drivers, he has won the most races at Spa.

  9. Go! Go! Go!

    Right then, are we all ready?

    Lights have gone green for first practice.

    It is a little cloudy and track temperature is a toasty 42C.

  10. More ways to listen

    BBC Sounds

    Hello to Harry Benjamin, Andrew Benson and F1 journalist Rebecca Clancy who will take us through the Friday practice sessions.

    To tune in to first practice, click the 'listen live' tab at the top of the live page, head over to the BBC Sounds app and search for Sports Extra 2 if you are out and about today or you can ask your smart speaker to "play Sports Extra 2".

    You can get analysis, previews and reviews from the F1: Chequered Flag podcast all weekend. Just search 'F1' on BBC Sounds.

  11. Crawford in for Alonso in FP1

    Aston Martin third driver Jak Crawford will be in Fernando Alonso's car for first practice in Belgium.

    The American has previously taken part in first practice sessions in Japan and Austria earlier this year.

    Alonso will be back in the car for second practice this afternoon.

    Jak Crawford in the Aston Martin F1 carGetty Images

  12. Tributes for Hubert and Van ’t Hoff

    In 2019, F2 driver Anthoine Hubert tragically lost his life during a race in Spa.

    His friend, Alpine driver Pierre Gasly leads a run around the Belgian Grand Prix circuit in Anthoine's memory, inviting teams in F1, F2 and F3, each year.

    The run is also in memory of Dilano van ’t Hoff, who lost his life at the same circuit in 2023, in a Formula Regional European Championship race.

    Pierre Gasly lays flowers on the Spa CircuitGetty Images
    drivers of F1, F2, F3 pose for a photo, all wearing shirts in honour of Anthoine HubertGetty Images
    drivers and teams jog around the Spa CircuitGetty Images

  13. Weather in Spa

    Fans hold up umbrellas during last year's wet-dry Belgian Grand PrixGetty Images

    The early forecast had suggested Belgium could be the first wet weekend of the season, but the weather can change very quickly at Spa.

    Friday's practice sessions are set for sun and a gentle breeze, with temperatures reaching a high of 24C.

    Saturday's qualifying is now expected to be free of rain, with sunny intervals and a slight breeze predicted instead, and a top temperature of 22C.

    For Sunday's race, which starts at 3pm local time, conditions will be slightly cooler at 20C but the sunny intervals and dry skies remain.

  14. Red Bull to change wing after Verstappen crashes

    Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps

    Max Verstappen crashes out in Austria qualifyingGetty Images

    Red Bull are reverting to a conventional rear wing for this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix following high-speed crashes for Max Verstappen in the previous two races.

    The move has been confirmed to BBC Sport by Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies, who said the team had discovered a problem with their previous wing in tests since the race at Silverstone.

    Red Bull are reverting to a wing that opens for straight-line mode in standard fashion, Mekies said.

    Red Bull and Ferrari have this year pioneered a new design where the rear wing opens into straight-line mode by the top flap rotating more than 180 degrees.

    This gives a greater drag reduction and therefore increased straight-line speed.

    However, Verstappen's crashes - one during the British Grand Prix and one in qualifying in Austria - were related to the way the wing closed on entry to two high-speed corners.

  15. Norris to have 10-place grid penalty in Belgium

    Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps

    McLaren's Lando NorrisGetty Images

    McLaren's Lando Norris will have a 10-place grid penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday as a result of exceeding the permitted number of engine parts.

    The world champion's car will be fitted with a new power electronics unit, Norris' fourth of the season, one more than is permitted.

    The 'power electronics' is the computer that controls the battery, and has caused a number of issues across Mercedes-supplied teams this season.

    McLaren decided to fit the new unit, along with taking the latest specification of Mercedes engine, because the one Norris was using does not have the reliability fixes introduced after a series of failures this year.

    The team chose this weekend to take the penalty because overtaking is relatively easy at Spa, and it is the last race before they introduce the first of two significant upgrade packages.

  16. Mercedes on top

    Teams' standingsGetty Images

    Mercedes continue their dominance at the top of the team standings, 78 points ahead of Ferrari.

    Racing Bulls picked up points at the British Grand Prix and are just a point behind Alpine.

    Ninth place Audi also picked up points and are five points behind Williams.

  17. Leclerc up in fourth

    Drivers' top 10Getty Images

    Ferrari's Charles Leclerc has jumped up to fourth, from sixth, in the drivers' standings after winning the British Grand Prix and picking up points in the sprint.

    George Russell has been chipping away at the gap between himself and his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli. The gap at the top has reduced to 25 points.

    Lewis Hamilton sits behind the Mercedes pair in third, seven points behind Russell.

  18. Round 10: Spa - First Practice

    Tasnim Chowdhury
    BBC Sport journalist

    Kimi AntonelliGetty Images

    Hello and welcome to Friday at the Belgian Grand Prix.

    We have had a little break since Charles Leclerc won in Silverstone.

    It is a double header of Spa and Budapest before the summer break.

    Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli is still leading the championship but his team-mate George Russell is not far behind.

    Lights out for FP1 at 12:30 BST.