Hamilton suffers misery as Norris thrashed by…read more
The 2025 Belgian Grand Prix weekend at Spa-Francorchamps kicked off with drama and surprises during the first and only practice session (FP1), as several big names faced unexpected difficulties. Lewis Hamilton, driving for Ferrari, endured a frustrating session marked by underwhelming pace and mechanical concerns. Despite Ferrari’s highly anticipated upgrades, the seven-time world champion could only set the seventh fastest time before reporting a power issue in the final stages of practice.
Meanwhile, McLaren enjoyed a strong start to the weekend, with Oscar Piastri topping the timesheets. The young Australian delivered an impressive performance on soft tyres, clocking a 1:42.022 lap that no other driver could match. His team-mate, Lando Norris, struggled to extract the same performance. A mistake during his flying lap cost him valuable time, leaving him over half a second behind Piastri and placing him third overall. Sandwiched between the McLaren duo was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the reigning world champion, who finished second but trailed Piastri by 0.404 seconds.
Mercedes also showed solid form, with George Russell securing fourth and rookie Kimi Antonelli impressing in sixth. Charles Leclerc slotted into fifth for Ferrari, narrowly ahead of Hamilton, raising concerns about Ferrari’s pace despite their recent development push.
Elsewhere on the grid, both Aston Martin drivers managed top-10 finishes, with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso finishing eighth and ninth, respectively. Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar completed the top ten, putting in a strong showing with a time just 1.1 seconds off the lead.
Williams faced early trouble when Carlos Sainz suffered a technical problem on his out-lap, attributed to a fuel system issue. The Spaniard lost a significant portion of running time but managed to get back on track for the final half-hour, ultimately finishing 11th. His teammate, Alex Albon, was right behind in 12th.
Kick Sauber drivers Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg claimed 13th and 14th, while Liam Lawson followed closely for Racing Bulls in 15th. Haas’ Esteban Ocon secured 16th, with Pierre Gasly of Alpine down in 17th.
Red Bull’s second driver, Yuki Tsunoda, had a difficult outing and could only manage 18th, more than two seconds off the pace. Alpine’s rookie Franco Colapinto and Haas’ Oliver Bearman brought up the rear in 19th and 20th, respectively, each struggling with the demanding nature of the Spa circuit.
The first practice session also saw multiple drivers caught out at La Source, the tight first hairpin, where several lockups sent cars running wide. With only one session before qualifying, teams faced extra pressure to gather enough data and fine-tune their setups in a limited time window.
As the action unfolds at Spa, McLaren will be buoyed by their strong early showing, while Ferrari and Red Bull face some serious work ahead to challenge Piastri’s pace. Hamilton, in particular, will be hoping for a turnaround in form after a difficult star
t to the weekend.
