Marco Rossi · F1 Correspondent
Andrea Kimi Antonelli produced the surprise of the day in second practice: his 1:45.944 made the Mercedes youngster more than a second quicker than Verstappen’s morning best.
More than a few hours separated the two practice sessions at Spa-Francorchamps: the benchmark time dropped from 1:47.070 in FP1 to 1:45.944 in FP2 – over a second quicker, which is typical at this stage of a weekend as fuel loads fall and more rubber goes down on track. The surprise was who set it: not Verstappen or Ferrari at the top, but Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes.
Mercedes on Top, Verstappen Feels the Gap
Antonelli’s 1:45.944 was good for first place ahead of Lando Norris, whose McLaren trailed by just 0.190 seconds. Max Verstappen, fastest in the morning, was third in this session – 0.472 seconds back, a noticeably bigger gap to the top than in FP1. Lewis Hamilton (0.747 seconds) and Isack Hadjar (0.770 seconds) followed, still close to each other but this time without touch with the leaders.
Leclerc Slides Back, Alpine Mixes It Up at the Front
The most notable shift in the field involved Charles Leclerc: after finishing third in the morning, the Ferrari driver could manage no better than eleventh in this session, 1.524 seconds off Antonelli and well behind teammate Hamilton. On the other side, Franco Colapinto improved – the Alpine driver was seventh, 1.203 seconds back, having finished FP1 down in 15th. Both Racing Bulls drivers, Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson, also stayed inside the top ten again, in ninth and tenth.
Alonso Back in the Cockpit, Eyes on Saturday
At the back of the field, Fernando Alonso was back in the Aston Martin in place of the morning’s junior driver – he finished 22nd, 5.474 seconds off the pace, with teammate Lance Stroll just ahead on 5.187 seconds. That leaves one main question for Saturday morning’s final practice: can Mercedes confirm its surprise pace, or will Red Bull and Ferrari close back in with less fuel on board before qualifying decides the grid in the afternoon.
