Ferrari endured a difficult second practice session at the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton classified fourth, 0.747 seconds behind Kimi Antonelli, and Charles Leclerc finishing 11th at 1.524 seconds. The session unfortunately brought the Maranello team’s deficit back towards the level it had expected before the Spa-Francorchamps weekend began.
The SF-26 had produced an encouraging performance in FP1, raising hopes that Ferrari might be able to challenge closer to the front than anticipated. FP2 offered a more sobering picture, however, as Mercedes regained the advantage and Ferrari appeared to occupy fourth place in the competitive order, at least over a qualifying simulation.
Ferrari’s encouraging start to the Belgian GP weekend
The opening practice session had presented Ferrari in a positive light, particularly because the team expected to face a substantial deficit to the leaders due to the SF-26’s continuing power unit disadvantage compared with its direct rivals. It was only free practice, but Ferrari’s initial approach provided reasons for optimism ahead of the rest of the weekend.
The second session was always going to offer a more significant assessment, both during the qualifying simulations and over the long runs. The SF-26 had not performed badly on race pace during the morning, while its aero-mechanical platform appeared well suited to Spa’s technical second sector.
Ferrari’s underlying objective remains to maximise its result at the Belgian Grand Prix before attempting to exploit the car’s strong aerodynamic and chassis platform at the Hungarian Grand Prix next weekend. Before the Spa event, Charles Leclerc had outlined Ferrari’s expectations while acknowledging the particular challenge presented by the Belgian circuit.
Ferrari return to their expected Belgian GP FP2 deficit
Ferrari sent both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton onto the track with medium tyres for their opening FP2 stints. After his first flying lap, Charles Leclerc moved into fourth position, approximately six tenths behind session leader Kimi Antonelli.
Lewis Hamilton was further back after making a mistake under braking for the Bus Stop chicane, which compromised his lap. On his second attempt, Charles Leclerc improved by only nine thousandths of a second after committing several errors around the circuit.
Lewis Hamilton made more meaningful progress on his second push lap, climbing to fifth position and finishing almost six tenths behind the benchmark established by Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli. Following a brief red-flag interruption, both Ferrari drivers returned to the circuit on soft tyres for their qualifying simulations.
The second session also provided a clearer test of the upgrades and circuit-specific configurations introduced by the teams, which were among the main technical developments in the Spa pit lane.
Lewis Hamilton moves ahead as Charles Leclerc struggles
At the end of his first flying lap on soft tyres, Lewis Hamilton moved into third position, seven tenths behind the still-unbeaten Kimi Antonelli. Charles Leclerc was fifth, one second away from the Italian after producing a poor final sector.
At that stage, Ferrari’s deficit to Mercedes appeared consistent with the team’s expectations before the weekend, although further track evolution and setup work still had the potential to alter the picture.
After returning to the pits, Charles Leclerc elected to remove eight points of front-wing load before heading back onto the track. The adjustment indicated that the Ferrari driver was searching for a different balance after struggling to put together a clean lap during the opening part of the session.
Lewis Hamilton failed to improve on his second attempt, while Charles Leclerc lowered his lap time slightly. The Ferrari drivers completed the stint in fifth and 11th positions respectively after Charles Leclerc’s lap was deleted for running off the track at Raidillon.
Ferrari’s difficulties were particularly significant because the SF-26 had looked competitive through Spa’s more technical sections earlier in the day. The team must balance that chassis potential against the demands of electrical deployment and energy recovery, an area made even more important by the FIA’s revised MGU-K energy limits at Spa.
Red flag prevents Ferrari race-pace assessment
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton completed only one lap of their race simulations before being forced to return to the pits. A red flag was shown following Pierre Gasly’s accident, bringing every car back into the pit lane and effectively ending the useful long-run work.
The first lap had been encouraging for both Ferrari drivers, but a single tour provided nowhere near enough evidence to draw reliable conclusions about the SF-26’s race pace or tyre management.
The interruption was particularly inconvenient for Ferrari because the team needed more representative data after its qualifying simulations had exposed a larger deficit than the one seen in FP1. Any further changes may also depend on the conditions at Spa, where the threat of rain could complicate setup decisions.
Mercedes emerge as favourites while McLaren improve
Mercedes therefore returned to the position of favourite after FP2, with Kimi Antonelli setting the pace and demonstrating the potential of the W17. McLaren also made a considerable step forwards, at least in terms of its qualifying simulation.
Red Bull continued to perform well over a single lap, although its pace appeared to deteriorate during the race simulation as the stint progressed. That could become an important factor over the full Grand Prix distance, although Friday practice alone cannot provide a definitive competitive order.
Based specifically on the FP2 qualifying simulations, Ferrari appeared to be the fourth-fastest team. That assessment was not entirely surprising given the SF-26’s power unit deficit at a circuit where straight-line performance and electrical energy deployment carry such importance.
Ferrari must now analyse the data and attempt to recover the balance and performance shown during the opening session. FP3 should provide a clearer indication before any firm predictions can be made for qualifying and the race.
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