Entering this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, one of the biggest storylines in the paddock was how Oscar Piastri would bounce back after his frustrating British Grand Prix. Piastri was running at the front of the field during a Safety Car, but was given a ten-second penalty for suddenly braking, which opened the door for teammate Lando Norris to take the checkered flag in front of him.
If the only hour of practice this week is any indication, Piastri is going to bounce back just fine.
The Australian
driver — and Drivers’ Championship leader — topped the timing sheets with a lap of 1:42.022, more than four-tenths ahead of Max Verstappen, who finished second. Norris, Piastri’s closest rival in the Drivers’ Championship race, was more than half a second off Piastri’s pace, finishing 0.504 seconds behind his McLaren teammate.
Ferrari introduced an upgraded rear suspension at the Belgian Grand Prix, following the introduction of a new floor at the Austrian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc finished fifth, while Lewis Hamilton finished seventh.
George Russell, who is not losing sleep while rumors persist over his future at Mercedes, finished fourth while teammate Kimi Antonelli split the Ferrari pair in sixth. Aston Martin teammates Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso finished eighth and ninth, while Isack Hadjar rounded out the top ten.
The teams and the drivers will quickly turn things around, as F1 Sprint qualifying gets underway in a few short hours.
Here are the full results from FP1 at the Belgian Grand Prix:
