Piastri recovers from hydraulic setback to finish sixth in Spa practice

Oscar Piastri lost nearly a third of FP2 at Spa-Francorchamps after a hydraulic leak forced McLaren to change his gearbox between Friday sessions. He still recovered to finish sixth and collect valuable data, though he ended the day almost a second behind pace-setter Kimi Antonelli.

Why it matters:

With teammate Lando Norris carrying a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday's race, McLaren is relying on Piastri to lead its qualifying charge. Every lap matters at Spa, where setup confidence is critical, making the lost track time a frustrating setback for the Australian.

The details:

• Piastri stopped at Les Combes in the closing minutes of FP1 with a hydraulic issue. He was able to return slowly to the garage, allowing the team to begin immediate repairs rather than recover the car from the circuit.
• McLaren swapped the gearbox, but work ran past the start of FP2, leaving Piastri sidelined for the opening 19 minutes.
• He eventually completed 11 laps, posting a best of 1:46.926, finishing 0.982s behind Antonelli and 0.792s off Norris, who ran an uninterrupted qualifying simulation.
• The team tested a new low-downforce rear wing on Piastri's car in FP1 before fitting it to Norris' car for FP2. Technical director Neil Houldey said it performed as expected.

What's next:

Piastri will look to maximize Saturday's final practice to make up for lost time before qualifying. McLaren will refine energy deployment overnight and ensure no further reliability issues surface, giving Piastri a chance to capitalize on his penalty-free status while Norris fights from the back on Sunday.