The second practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix of Formula 1 was dominated by Kimi Antonelli, who recorded the best time with a 1m45.944s, surpassing Lando Norris by nearly two-tenths. The session was marked by two interruptions with red flags.
The first red flag was caused by the presence of gravel on the track, but the second, which appeared just 15 minutes before the end of the session, was triggered by an accident involving Pierre Gasly. The Alpine driver lost control of his car at Les Fagnes, crashing into the outer wall and damaging his rear wing.
Antonelli set his fast lap on his first attempt with soft tires, positioning himself ahead of the Red Bulls. His initial runs with medium tires were interrupted by the first red flag, which required cleaning the track at Stavelot.
After a five-minute break, the teams moved on to qualifying simulations. Isack Hadjar achieved the best time with a 1m46.714s, but he will face a grid penalty due to changes to his power unit.
Johann Verstappen, the star driver of Red Bull, improved his time to a 1m46.416s, momentarily taking the lead. However, Antonelli regained the top spot with a notable time, leaving Verstappen in third place.
Lando Norris was just 0.190s behind Antonelli, while Lewis Hamilton completed the quartet of drivers in an intense session. However, his initial time was disqualified due to a mix-up with race control, but it was eventually restored.
Additionally, Oscar Piastri placed sixth, despite having lost the first 20 minutes of the session due to a vehicle failure. Franco Colapinto showed good performance with seventh place, while Gasly could not improve his time from before the accident.
With the competition very tight, expectations are high for the rest of the weekend. The next qualifying session promises to be intense, with several drivers competing for a podium spot.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
