The only free practice session (FP1) of the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix weekend has just concluded, with Ferrari focusing on testing their new rear suspension package. All Formula 1 teams had exactly one hour to try out their upgrades and find the optimal setup in preparation for today’s qualifying session scheduled for 16:30 Italian time. Relive the key moments from FP1 at Spa-Francorchamps, from Ferrari’s technical updates to Laurent Mekies’ debut as Red Bull’s new team principal on the pit wall.
This morning’s fog gave way to bright sunshine over the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit during FP1 of the Belgian Grand Prix. The weekend started with some challenges for Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Williams’ Carlos Sainz, both encountering technical issues early in the session.
Ferrari was quick to send their cars out, immediately testing the new rear suspension fitted to their SF-25 chassis on hard compound tyres. Meanwhile, drivers such as Max Verstappen, Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon, and Oliver Bearman began the session on a first set of medium tyres.
Oscar Piastri impressed right from his first flying lap, setting a fast time of 1:44.979, almost six tenths quicker than Max Verstappen. A surprisingly strong Yuki Tsunoda, running on yellow medium tyres, came close to matching the Australian rookie’s pace.
On his tenth lap, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc posted the fastest time of the session using hard tyres, clocking a 1:44.148. His teammate Lewis Hamilton, however, could only manage fourth place, though the gap to Leclerc was fairly small at +0.219 seconds.
Ferrari also ran their flow-viz paint on two occasions to check airflow patterns and gather as much aerodynamic data as possible. The Maranello team dedicated significant effort to optimizing car setup, with Leclerc and Hamilton testing two different rear wing configurations.
The two Mercedes cars appeared to struggle slightly during the session. In the first 30 minutes, George Russell and Nico Antonelli were unable to move beyond tenth and eleventh positions respectively.
Final 30 minutes
After resolving their initial issues, both Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll returned to the track. With just 20 minutes remaining, the top positions remained largely unchanged, with Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, and Lando Norris occupying the leading spots, all separated by very small margins.
Lance Stroll was the first driver to set a fast time on the soft red tyres, posting a 1:43.112, just one second ahead of Charles Leclerc. Ten minutes before the session ended, qualifying simulations began for nearly all drivers. Oscar Piastri immediately set the pace on his first flying lap, recording a 1:42.123.
Max Verstappen started his qualifying simulation strongly, posting the fastest time in the first sector, but lost nearly a second in the middle sector before recovering some time in the final sector. He finished half a second behind Piastri at the line.
Charles Leclerc ended FP1 in fourth place, nearly one second off Piastri’s leading time. Lewis Hamilton managed only sixth position. Lando Norris was unfortunate to make an error on his initial flying lap and failed to complete it. However, Russell found his rhythm late in the session, setting the second-fastest time on medium tyres.
Near the end, Norris made a second qualifying attempt and ultimately finished the session in third place.
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