Lando Norris Leads McLaren 1-2 in Belgian GP Practice

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri showcased McLaren’s pace by securing a one-two in the second practice session at the Belgian Grand Prix with Norris leading by 0.215 seconds. Max Verstappen, who finished third will face a 10-place grid drop for Sunday’s race due to taking his fifth internal combustion engine of the season exceeding the allocated number.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth but significantly behind Norris with gaps of over half a second and 0.838 seconds, respectively. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes ended up sixth and tenth, with both drivers expressing balance issues despite new upgrades. Esteban Ocon of Alpine, who completed only one lap in the first practice due to a suspected water leak, managed to be seventh fastest.

Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and Sergio Perez (Red Bull) rounded out the top ten. Lando Norris, who is 76 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ championship, mentioned he still needs to find his rhythm with the car despite the strong showing. He hopes to feel more comfortable by Saturday’s qualifying session which may see rain.

Verstappen, seeking his first win since the Spanish Grand Prix in June faces a challenge due to McLaren’s improvement. Last year, he won easily from sixth on the grid at Spa after a similar grid penalty. Yuki Tsunoda will start at the back of the field with a 60-place grid drop due to multiple engine component changes.

Alpine announced that Bruno Famin will step down as team principal by the end of August. He took the role at the start of the season following Otmar Szafnauer’s departure. The team will announce a new team principal soon.