Max third after Friday practice at Spa: 'A good day'

Published on 17 July 2026 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen finished Friday practice for the Belgian Grand Prix in third place. Kimi Antonelli lapped the iconic  Spa-Francorchamps quickest in his Mercedes. McLaren’s Lando Norris was second fastest.

“It’s been a good day, the car is in a good window”, the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver said. “The balance was there right away, but we still need to do some fine tuning. I’m not sure how much more pace we can find as you see the real gap in FP2.

The Dutchman added: “It’s a challenging track with the energy management as we’re slower on the straights compared to our competitors, but the balance is pretty good. We’ll just keep focussing on ourselves and hopefully we can close the gap in qualifying.”

 At the start of the session, Max hits the ground running with his first timed lap good enough for third place. Only Antonelli and team mate Isack Hadjar start the session quicker. Moments later, a brief red flag period follows after Max has gone off at turn 14. Although no damage has been done and the Dutchman is soon back on track, a heap of gravel has been dragged on the circuit requiring to be swept away.

As the session continues, Max’s RB22 now sports a set of brand-new soft Pirellis. The four-time champ uses the extra grip to go second quickest behind Antonelli, who leads the field by nearly half a second. After everyone has finished their qualifying simulations, Norris has bumped Max to third, with the McLaren squeezing in between the Red Bull and Antonelli’s Merc.

At the halfway point, Max heads out on the medium compound to focus on preparing for Sunday’s Grand Prix. The early signs are good with Max able to match Antonelli’s pace.

With fifteen minutes to go, another red flag interrupts the session after Pierre Gasly crashes heavily at turn 13, destroying the rear of the Alpine in the process. The Frenchman is unharmed, but the marshals have their work cut out to tidy the debris on track.

With only a couple minutes on the clock, the session is resumed, allowing the drivers the opportunity to do a practice start. Antonelli has remained n top throughout FP2.

Results second free practice Belgium: