F1 Belgian GP: Antonelli fastest as Hamilton crashes at end of FP3

Kimi Antonelli concluded the final Formula 1 practice session at the Belgian Grand Prix on top, as Lewis Hamilton crashed at the end of the session.
Antonelli had set a 1m45.990s with his opening soft-tyre run of the session, laying down the gauntlet for his challengers at the end of the first 30 minutes of the session – but it proved too difficult to beat.
Hamilton attempted to get closer …Keep reading

Why Hamilton sees Mercedes as ‘still the team to beat’ at Belgian GP

Lewis Hamilton has tipped Mercedes and McLaren to impress at Formula 1’s Belgian Grand Prix, after Ferrari seemingly struggled in Friday practice at Spa-Francorchamps.
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli was fastest in 1m45.944s yesterday, leading McLaren’s Lando Norris and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by two tenths and half a second respectively.
The lead Ferrari, driven by Hamilton, was 0.747s …Keep reading

“Not getting ahead of ourselves” – Why Norris was downbeat in Belgium despite F1 practice pace

Practice pace on Friday at Spa-Francorchamps presented a more muddled picture than you would normally expect at what has traditionally been a ‘power’ circuit. Nearly a full second separated the top six cars during their soft-tyre qualifying simulations during the second practice session, and only Lando Norris came within two tenths of the benchmark set by championship leader Kimi …Keep reading

Alpine explains Gasly’s crash that red-flagged FP2

Alpine and Pierre Gasly have weighed in on the Frenchman’s crash at the end of Free Practice 2 ahead of Formula 1’s Belgian Grand Prix.
The incident occurred in the final stages of Friday’s second session, as Gasly experienced a snap of oversteer at the exit of the Les Fagnes section. This narrowly sent him into the gravel and he clipped the outside barrier, which sent him into a spin and …Keep reading

Red Bull expects to run its ‘Macarena’ wing again at next F1 race

Red Bull intends to re-introduce its rotating rear wing on the RB22 at next week’s Hungarian Grand Prix, technical director Pierre Wache has announced.
Pioneered by Ferrari amid Formula 1’s new ruleset, the rotating wing – which improves straightline performance in straight mode – was adopted by Red Bull at the Miami Grand Prix.
However, after Max Verstappen suffered two crashes in …Keep reading

How Racing Bulls let a driver battle decide who got its F1 car cooling upgrade for Belgian GP

With Racing Bulls duo Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad both delivering consecutive points finishes in recent races, surfing on an uptick in form for the Formula 1  team following an effective Canada upgrade, neither driver has needed any additional motivation to beat the other side of the garage.
But when Racing Bulls was only able to bring one of its Spa-Francorchamps updates to one car, the …Keep reading

F1 Belgian GP: Antonelli headlines FP2 over Norris, Gasly crash causes red flag

Kimi Antonelli vaulted to the top of the timesheet in Formula 1’s second practice session at the Belgian Grand Prix, just under two tenths clear of Lando Norris in a twice red-flagged session.
The first red flag was innocuous enough and called out for gravel on the circuit; the second was produced by Pierre Gasly’s crash in the final 15 minutes of the session, which interrupted the teams’ …Keep reading