Antonelli dominates interrupted Belgian FP2

Antonelli led for much of the hour before producing a 1m45.944s on the soft tyre, finishing 0.190s clear of Lando Norris and 0.472s ahead of FP1 pace setter Max Verstappen.

Lewis Hamilton was fourth for Ferrari, narrowly ahead of Isack Hadjar and Oscar Piastri, with only the top six drivers finishing within one second of Antonelli’s benchmark.

The session was interrupted twice by red flags, the first coming after Verstappen ran wide at Stavelot and dragged a large amount of gravel onto the racing line.

A more serious stoppage followed in the closing stages when Gasly lost control of his Alpine at the Fagnes chicane and crashed heavily into the barriers.

The impact tore the rear wing from the car and caused extensive damage to its right-rear corner, leaving debris scattered across the circuit and bringing the session to another halt.

“Just absolutely lost it out of nowhere, just lost the rear,” Gasly reported over the radio.

Gasly emerged from the car unharmed but was unable to continue, leaving Alpine with significant repairs to complete ahead of Saturday’s running.

Here’s a look at what happened to Pierre 💥#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/j0bryKITvr

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 17, 2026

The opening red flag provided an unexpected benefit for Piastri, whose McLaren remained in the garage for the first 20 minutes as the team completed repairs following his hydraulic issue late in FP1.

All other drivers began the session on the medium tyre, with Antonelli establishing the early benchmark through a 1m46.911s.

Hadjar sat just 0.011s behind the Mercedes driver, while Verstappen was only 0.031s away in third after losing time through the final sector of his lap.

Arvid Lindblad made another impressive start for Racing Bulls, sitting fourth and just over four tenths away from the early pace ahead of the Ferrari pair and Norris.

George Russell was again slower than his Mercedes teammate during the opening runs, sitting more than one second behind Antonelli before the first stoppage.

Several of the leading drivers switched to the soft tyre when the session resumed, with Hadjar briefly moving to the top through a 1m46.714s.

Antonelli responded immediately, setting the fastest sectors around the opening two parts of the lap before crossing the line in 1m45.944s.

Verstappen was unable to match the Mercedes driver and slotted into second before Norris later displaced him with a 1m46.134s.

Hamilton improved to fourth with a 1m46.691s, finishing 0.023s clear of Hadjar, while Charles Leclerc struggled to match his Ferrari teammate and ended the session 11th.

Piastri finally emerged from the McLaren garage shortly after the first red flag and began his delayed program on the medium compound.

The Australian later moved onto soft tyres and recorded a 1m46.926s, leaving him sixth and 0.792s behind Norris.

Franco Colapinto produced an encouraging lap for Alpine to finish seventh, setting a 1m47.147s to place himself ahead of Russell.

The Mercedes driver finished eighth and 1.285s behind Antonelli after losing approximately half a second through the middle sector of his soft-tyre lap.

Lindblad and Liam Lawson completed the top 10 for Racing Bulls, with the teammates separated by 0.140s despite running slightly different programs during the session.

Leclerc’s time in 11th was more than 1.5s away from Antonelli, followed by the Haas of Oliver Bearman and Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi.

Esteban Ocon finished just 0.006s behind Bortoleto in 14th, with Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz occupying 15th and 16th for Williams.

Nico Hulkenberg was 17th in the second Audi, ahead of Gasly, whose best lap before his crash left him more than three seconds away from his teammate.

Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez were 19th and 20th for Cadillac, while Aston Martin drivers Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso completed the order.

Saturday running gets underway at Spa-Francorchamps with FP3 beginning 12.30pm local time (8.30pm AEST).

Results: Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, Free Practice 2