Winners and Losers from Belgian GP Practice: Antonelli and Verstappen Star at Spa

Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen emerged as Friday's standouts at Spa-Francorchamps, while George Russell and Aston Martin endured a bruising start to the Belgian Grand Prix weekend. Practice was dominated by 2026 energy harvesting headaches and a wave of new upgrades, but Antonelli's late surge and Verstappen's consistent form provided the real talking points. Meanwhile, Russell languished well over a second behind his Mercedes teammate and Aston Martin remained stranded more than five seconds off the pace.

Why it matters:

Nailing setup is critical at Spa given the long straights and the ongoing 2026 harvesting complications. Antonelli's impressive long-run pace suggests Mercedes has found a workable window, while Verstappen's return to the sharp end signals Red Bull is firmly back in the fight for pole.

The details:

• Antonelli topped FP2 and starred on long runs after Mercedes corrected an FP1 setup miscalculation, though he drew ire from Carlos Sainz following an on-track spat.
• Russell never found his footing, finishing three-tenths adrift in FP1 and over 1.2 seconds behind in FP2 amid suspected straight-line speed issues.
• Verstappen led FP1 and finished third in FP2, with long-run pace strong enough to keep him in contention for both qualifying and the race.
• Aston Martin remained rooted to the bottom of the timesheets, with team principal Mike Krack conceding the cars are too far off to challenge for points without heavy attrition.
• Alpine's Franco Colapinto sprung a surprise with seventh in FP2, outpacing midfield rivals and teammate Pierre Gasly, who crashed heavily at the Fagnes chicane and faces possible gearbox damage.
• Haas showed modest progress with a new front wing, with Ollie Bearman reporting improved balance despite the team still trailing Racing Bulls and Alpine.

What's next:

Saturday qualifying will reveal whether Antonelli and Verstappen can convert their Friday promise into pole position, while Russell needs a rapid fix to avoid a painful Sunday on Spa's power-dependent layout. Aston Martin faces another weekend of damage limitation ahead of its B-spec debut, and Gasly's mechanics face a lengthy night ensuring his car is ready to run again.