Verstappen tops Hamilton as Mercedes struggle in first Spa practice

Max Verstappen was quickest in first practice for the Belgian Grand Prix from Lewis Hamilton while Mercedes surprisingly struggled; watch second practice later on Friday from 4pm with Qualifying on Saturday at 3pm, live on Sky Sports F1

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>Max Verstappen was surprisingly fastest from Lewis Hamilton as Mercedes were off the pace in first practice for the Belgian Grand Prix.

>Red Bull are yet to win a race in 2026 but Verstappen came flying out of the blocks at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps and was 0.145s quicker than rival Hamilton, with Charles Leclerc two tenths off the pace in third.

>Verstappen has been tight-lipped about where he will be driving in 2027 after his management held talks with McLaren in the last month, but a strong Red Bull car over the upcoming races would almost certainly mean the Dutchman stays at the team.

>Isack Hadjar, who will start at the back for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix due to a power unit change, was fourth which underlined Red Bull's strong early pace.

>The Milton Keynes-based team have dropped their rotating 'macarena' rear wing after Verstappen crashed at the last two races in Austria and Silverstone due to a failure on the rear wing.

>But it has not held them back and the heavy reliance on engine power at Spa-Francorchamps suits the RB22, which has been deemed to have the best internal combustion engine by the FIA.

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>"Max always finds the limit more quickly than others but that looked very solid from Red Bull," said Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle.

>Mercedes will be scratching their heads as championship leader Kimi Antonelli was sixth and 0.533s behind Verstappen with George Russell down in eighth.

>Antonelli, who is 25 points ahead of Russell in the Drivers' Championship, is on the limit of his engine allowance after Mercedes discovered a potential problem with his Silverstone power unit and are investigating whether it can be used again.

>Another new engine for Antonelli would trigger a 10-grid place penalty, which is what Lando Norris has for this weekend as he has exceeded the control electronics limit - a power unit element.

>McLaren's Oscar Piastri was fifth but suffered a late hydraulics issue, so was forced to crawl back to the pit lane in the closing minutes.

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>Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad was ninth in his upgraded car that features new sidepods with Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto completing the top 10.

>Their respective team-mates of Liam Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg were 11th and 12th with Haas' Oliver Bearman in 13th. Haas have also brought new parts to Belgium including a new front wing and revised beam wing.

>Jak Crawford replaced Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin for the session as teams continue to tick off the requirement to run a rookie in at least two practice sessions for both of their cars.

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>Friday July 17 2pm: F3 Qualifying 2.55pm: F2 Qualifying 3.30pm: Belgian GP Practice Two (session starts at 4pm) 5.15pm: The F1 Show

>Saturday July 18 9am: F3 Sprint 11.15am: Belgian GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am) 1.15pm: F2 Sprint 2.15pm: Belgian GP Qualifying build-up* 3pm: BELGIAN GP QUALIFYING*

>Sunday July 19 7.30am: F3 Feature Race 9am: F2 Feature Race 10.45am: Porsche Supercup 12.30pm: Belgian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday 2pm: THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX 4pm: Belgian GP reaction: Chequered Flag

>Formula 1's summer run continues with the Belgian Grand Prix at legendary Spa-Francorchamps this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime