Andrea Kimi Antonelli emerged as the clear Belgian Grand Prix favourite after a Mercedes setup change transformed the W17’s performance in Spa FP2. Increasing the car’s aerodynamic load helped the championship leader unlock speed through the middle sector while also improving energy deployment and recovery, leaving Ferrari on the defensive after its encouraging start to Friday.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had closely followed Max Verstappen in FP1, but Ferrari made less progress than its main rivals during the afternoon. The SF-26 remained well balanced, yet its disappointing performance through Spa’s technical middle sector exposed a difficult compromise between downforce, straight-line speed and electrical energy management. An additional uncertainty remains over which Ferrari power-unit specification was used on Friday.
What the Spa FP2 data revealed
After several surprises during first practice, the afternoon session at Spa-Francorchamps produced a competitive picture much closer to pre-weekend expectations, although there were still some notable exceptions. Mercedes significantly increased its aerodynamic load, turning a difficult FP1 into an explosive and ultimately unreachable performance in FP2.
That transformation was once again achieved by Andrea Kimi Antonelli alone. The Italian topped the Belgian Grand Prix FP2 classification and finished 1.2 seconds ahead of team-mate George Russell, who continued to struggle to find the correct level of grip from the W17.
Mercedes once again demonstrated how the strength of its power unit gives the team greater freedom when choosing an aerodynamic configuration. At Silverstone, a slightly lower-downforce setup may have provided an advantage, but Friday’s Spa data suggested that carrying more aerodynamic load offered significant benefits in Belgium.
The advantage was not limited to faster cornering through the middle sector. Greater grip allowed the car to use electrical energy more effectively and recharge it more efficiently, potentially producing a double benefit compared with chasing maximum speed on the straights alone. This interaction between aerodynamic stability and hybrid performance became one of the recurring themes of the session.
Kimi Antonelli transforms Mercedes with more downforce
Compared with FP1, Mercedes also appeared to change the way Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s car deployed its electrical energy. The telemetry suggested that releasing energy along the circuit’s downhill sections produced a substantial overall advantage.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli recorded significant speed peaks approaching the braking zone for La Source, descending towards Eau Rouge and, most notably, on the downhill approach to Pouhon. That final area was one of the most important reference points in Friday’s analysis.
The combination of aerodynamic load, engine performance and improved energy management made Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s W17 the leading candidate for both pole position and victory. However, the data still came only from Friday practice, and the true competitive order will not be confirmed until qualifying.
Mercedes’ improvement also demonstrated why the MGU-K and energy-management challenge at Spa cannot be assessed by looking at engine power or maximum speed in isolation. A more stable car can also create opportunities to recover and deploy energy more consistently throughout the lap.
Lando Norris benefits from a race-focused McLaren setup
Lando Norris produced a surprisingly strong performance to finish behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli. However, the data suggested McLaren had selected a setup already focused heavily on the race because the reigning World Champion must serve a ten-place grid penalty.
Lando Norris appeared to be running more aerodynamic load, and that approach paid dividends in terms of overall lap time. McLaren was also the most balanced team through the Pouhon section, using a moderate level of electrical deployment both on the downhill approach to the high-speed corner and again on the exit.
That balanced energy strategy, combined with strong general cornering performance, gave Lando Norris the fastest middle sector. The extra downforce and energy expenditure were more costly towards Blanchimont, where the MCL40 was the slowest of the leading cars and where Lando Norris probably surrendered his opportunity to set the fastest overall lap.
McLaren’s approach reinforced the impression that greater downforce could be beneficial at Spa despite the circuit’s long full-throttle sections. It also reflected the strategic demands created by Lando Norris’s grid penalty, with race performance potentially more valuable than optimising the car exclusively for qualifying.
Max Verstappen confirms Red Bull’s Spa potential
Max Verstappen remained competitive, even though he finished almost half a second behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Dutch driver confirmed several distinctive characteristics of the Red Bull package, including a relatively slow passage through Eau Rouge despite remaining at full throttle.
Max Verstappen also used a unique deployment strategy around Pouhon. Red Bull released relatively little electrical energy on the downhill approach before concentrating more of its deployment on the corner exit.
The Red Bull power unit appeared particularly effective at high engine speeds, helping Max Verstappen produce one of the strongest runs through the final acceleration zone towards the Bus Stop chicane. That performance gave him the fastest third sector of the session.
Although Spa and Silverstone both feature numerous high-speed corners, the ideal compromise is different in Belgium because of the longer flat-out sections and the different structure of the technical middle sector. Those characteristics appeared to place Red Bull in a much more favourable operating window than at Silverstone.
Max Verstappen seemed to choose a lower-downforce, attacking setup. Isack Hadjar, who will start from the back of the grid, appeared to be running considerably more aerodynamic load with a configuration focused on race performance, similar to Lando Norris’s approach. The two Red Bull drivers nevertheless produced comparable lap times with very different setups, suggesting the RB22 was working within a healthy overall window.
Ferrari’s short blanket limits its setup options
Ferrari’s afternoon was not as encouraging as its promising performance during Spa FP1. The SF-26 appeared well balanced, but its pace through the middle sector was particularly disappointing considering the recognised qualities of Ferrari’s chassis.
Lewis Hamilton’s telemetry nevertheless showed notable top speeds in the first and third sectors. This suggested that the engineers led by Fred Vasseur had chosen to deploy a large proportion of the available energy along Spa’s two main high-speed sections.
That strategy required Ferrari to sacrifice important elements of performance through the more technical part of the lap, including traction and the approach to braking zones. Lewis Hamilton was recorded 12 km/h slower at the entry to Turn 8 and 20 km/h down under braking for the Campus Esses.
Ferrari had sufficient aerodynamic load, while maximising deployment on the downhill approach to Pouhon was already a strategy the team had displayed during first practice. However, the SF-26 appeared to have less room for improvement than its rivals as Friday progressed.
The findings align with the broader analysis of Ferrari’s hybrid deployment difficulties in Belgian GP FP2. The problem was not simply a lack of aerodynamic balance: the team had to decide where to use its electrical energy and which areas of the lap it was prepared to compromise.
Lewis Hamilton leads as Charles Leclerc encounters hybrid issues
Lewis Hamilton continued to look quick and effective despite Ferrari’s limited improvement. Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, appeared to experience problems using the hybrid system through the third sector.
That issue may have originated from less-than-perfect grip during the opening part of the lap. Charles Leclerc consistently remained behind Lewis Hamilton, even though the two Ferrari drivers reached the end of the second sector separated by only a few thousandths of a second on several laps.
Ferrari must now determine how much additional optimisation is available after its overnight work. Improving grip and stability would not only strengthen the SF-26 through the corners but could also make its electrical energy deployment and recovery more effective.
The team must also assess whether its chosen compromise provides enough flexibility to fight Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren. Spa has exposed the danger of pursuing straight-line performance if the resulting losses under braking, on traction and through the middle sector become too significant.
Which Ferrari power unit was used in Spa practice?
Andrea Kimi Antonelli appears to be the favourite once again, confirming the predictions made before the Belgian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen currently looks like the leading candidate to challenge for the most important positions, while Ferrari is playing defensively for the time being.
However, the power-unit variable remains unresolved. It was not officially known whether the cars of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were fitted with Ferrari’s units already modified through the ADUO process or the previous specification, which may have been used during free practice as part of the normal rotation between engines.
The distinction could materially change how Ferrari’s Friday deficit should be interpreted. If the team used an older specification, its qualifying performance could improve when the updated unit returns. If the revised power unit was already installed, the scale of the challenge would be more concerning. For now, neither scenario has been confirmed.
The question also forms part of the wider debate over whether Ferrari can overcome its power-unit deficit at Spa. FP3 should provide a clearer indication once the teams move closer to their definitive qualifying configurations.
Limited long runs leave Belgian GP strategy uncertain
The race-pace picture also remains unclear because teams completed very little representative long-run work before the red flag late in FP2. The limited available data suggested low tyre degradation during the opening phase of a stint, followed by a more sudden performance drop after approximately five laps.
That impression remains provisional because of the small sample size, but such a tyre pattern could create several interesting strategic scenarios. Teams may need to judge whether extending a stint is worth the risk of reaching a sudden drop-off point rather than experiencing a gradual decline in performance.
Saturday’s final practice should clarify which of Friday’s impressions were reliable. It should also provide more information about Ferrari’s power-unit choice, the teams’ true race pace and whether the higher-downforce approach continues to offer the best overall compromise.
For now, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes hold the advantage, with Max Verstappen emerging as their most credible challenger. Ferrari still has time to react, but the data suggests the SF-26 currently has less freedom to balance downforce, straight-line speed and energy deployment than its leading rivals.
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