F1 Belgian Grand Prix 2026 Practice Round-Up: Antonelli Fastest as Grid Penalties and the Macarena Wing Shape Spa’s Race Picture

Kimi Antonelli ended Friday fastest at Spa-Francorchamps, topping an FP2 interrupted twice by red flags with a 1:45.944 after Max Verstappen led the morning session on Red Bull’s old-specification rear wing. The team shelved its rotating “Macarena” design for the Belgian Grand Prix after two crashes linked to the component, but the rear wing was only one part of a Friday shaped by what comes next. Lando Norris and Lance Stroll carry 10-place grid penalties, while Isack Hadjar’s accumulated 30-place penalty sends him to the back regardless of where he qualifies. Hadjar was fourth in FP1 and fifth in FP2. His pace was real. It just will not decide where he starts on Sunday.

Key Points: F1 Belgian Grand Prix 2026 Practice

• Antonelli fastest in FP2 with a 1:45.944 on Softs. Verstappen fastest in FP1 with a 1:47.070 on an old-spec rear wing after Red Bull dropped the rotating rear wing element following two Verstappen incidents.
• Three grid penalties confirmed for Sunday: Norris 10 places (4th Control Electronics Unit), Stroll 10 places (4th MGU-K), Hadjar 30 places accumulated, sending him to the back of the grid under Article B2.5.4b.iv.
• FP2 disrupted by two red flags, gravel at Turn 14 from Verstappen’s off-line moment and a heavy Gasly crash at Turn 13, cutting usable long-run data across the field.
• Sector analysis shows Antonelli’s fastest FP2 lap was built at both ends of the circuit: quickest in Sector 1 before recovering the decisive time in Sector 3 after Norris led the middle sector.
• Long-run picture inconclusive. Verstappen banked the biggest sample at 1:51.876 over seven laps. Antonelli’s 1:51.511 average came from only four.
• Upgrade packages arrive from McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, Racing Bulls, Haas, Williams and Audi. Ferrari and Aston Martin bring nothing new to Spa.

FP1: Verstappen Quickest on the Old Wing

Sainz led the field out when the pit lane opened, and Russell set the opening benchmark at 1:50.654 before Hamilton and Verstappen both went quicker. Hadjar became the first into the 1:48s bracket, unsurprising given he was the only driver on Softs in the opening phase while the rest of the field ran Mediums. Verstappen found his tyres midway through the opening ten minutes and cut his time down sharply from there.

Verstappen’s session-topping 1:47.070 came on an old-specification rear wing. Red Bull have shelved the rotating Macarena wing for this weekend after crashes at the British Grand Prix and in Austrian Grand Prix qualifying, running the older fixed-geometry wing in FP1 while the team’s newly submitted rear wing, built around revised pylon profiles, serves as the interim solution. The Macarena wing itself is not expected back before the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Piastri finished fifth despite a late hydraulic-pressure issue that forced him to pull off the circuit briefly before he was told to return slowly to the pits. Antonelli had a more unsettled session. He swerved to avoid an unaware Sainz and called the Williams driver “an idiot” over the radio, while Sainz was separately noted for crossing the line at pit entry. Antonelli finished sixth and asked Mercedes to switch its attention towards the long runs after describing the car as “a bit edgy” on the faster laps.

Norris briefly ran with aero rakes and Softs on an exploratory installation lap early in the session before setting a representative time later. Track temperatures peaked at 43°C.

FP2: Antonelli Fastest Through Two Red Flags

FP2 began in cooler conditions, with the track at 37°C and the air at 25°C after the surface had peaked at 43°C during FP1. Teams used only the Medium C3 and Soft C4, leaving aside the Hard C2 run by Audi, Alpine and Cadillac during the morning. Antonelli opened with a 1:46.911 on the Medium, immediately quicker than Verstappen’s FP1 benchmark and 0.011s ahead of Hadjar. Verstappen sat another 0.031s back, followed by Leclerc, Norris and Russell, while Hamilton ran deep at the final chicane and went ninth.

Verstappen dipped a wheel into the gravel at Turn 14, pulling stones onto the circuit and triggering the first red flag as the session approached the 15-minute mark. Once running resumed, Hadjar became the first driver to switch to the Soft and lowered the benchmark before Verstappen and then Antonelli went quicker. Antonelli became the first driver below 1:46, setting the 1:45.944 that would lead the session. Hamilton and Leclerc produced their first Soft-tyre laps around Hadjar’s time, while Russell and Norris waited until close to halfway before beginning their qualifying simulations.

Piastri lost twenty minutes early in the session to a hydraulic leak that required a garage rebuild. Norris improved to second, two tenths off the top, and Colapinto climbed into the top six as the field shifted focus toward long runs. A second red flag came in the closing fifteen minutes when Gasly crashed heavily on the exit of Turn 13, bringing his Alpine to a stop with heavy damage to the rear of the car. Running resumed with two minutes left, and there were no further improvements. Antonelli and Norris both finished their sessions on 18 laps, Verstappen on 21, all reduced by the two interruptions.

The Sector Story: Antonelli Found It at Both Ends

Antonelli did not control every part of the lap. His advantage began with the fastest first sector of the top ten at 30.536, while Norris answered with the quickest middle sector at 46.586. The Mercedes regained the decisive time over the final part of the circuit, where Antonelli’s 28.686 was beaten only by Verstappen and Colapinto among the leading ten.

Against Norris specifically, Antonelli gained 0.121s in Sector 1, lost 0.136s through Sector 2, then took 0.205s back in the final sector. That left the Mercedes driver 0.190s clear at the flag. Colapinto produced the fastest third sector of the top ten at 28.569, with Verstappen next at 28.637, though neither had the middle-sector pace to trouble Antonelli or Norris across the full lap.

Long Runs: The Red Flags Limit the Comparison

The usable long-run data from FP2 is considerably thinner than a clean session would have produced. Two red flags removed enough running that the sample sizes across the field are uneven, and any read on Sunday’s race pace from Friday needs that caveat attached before anything else.

Verstappen completed the longest uninterrupted Medium run before the second red flag, averaging 1:51.876 across seven valid laps on a set that was five laps old at the start of the stint, with his pace sitting inside a 1.058-second window overall. Antonelli was quickest across the shorter comparable runs, averaging 1:51.511 over four valid laps on a similarly aged Medium, with all four laps between 1:51.389 and 1:51.671. That is strong consistency, but four laps is not enough on its own to draw a firm degradation conclusion.

Norris averaged 1:51.872, almost identical to Verstappen, but completed only two representative laps before the red flag ended his run. Russell managed three laps at 1:51.980. Hadjar completed six valid laps but was slower overall at 1:52.449. Piastri and Hamilton never put together a run worth comparing, their later laps coming after the session had effectively been disrupted beyond usefulness.

Antonelli, Norris and Verstappen occupied broadly the same race-pace window when they managed to string representative laps together. Antonelli recorded the quickest average, but from only four laps. Verstappen produced the strongest sample with seven, while Norris was effectively level with him across just two usable laps. That is not enough to establish a race-pace order. The interruptions also left McLaren and Ferrari without the running needed for a reliable degradation comparison.

Upgrades: Racing Bulls and Mercedes Bring the Biggest Packages

The FIA car-presentation documents show teams taking different approaches to Spa’s compromise between straight-line efficiency and downforce. Racing Bulls submitted the largest package: revised sidepod and engine-cover bodywork, a narrower roll hoop, an updated front brake-drum assembly and a new upper rear wing with altered mainplane and flap profiles.

Mercedes bring three items: a circuit-specific rear wing with reduced camber on the upper elements to trim downforce and drag for Spa’s long straights, revised rear drum winglets for local load, and an increased-camber front wing endplate aimed at improving flow to the rear of the car. McLaren bring two rear wing updates of their own, an endplate revision for flow conditioning and a new circuit-specific low-drag rear wing assembly built for Spa’s long straights.

Red Bull’s only declared update is its rear wing, with revised pylon profiles intended to improve the mainplane interface while maintaining stable airflow. It is the interim replacement for the Macarena wing. Haas bring four items across the front wing, front wing endplate, front corner and beam wing. Williams update the rear corner and floor body twice. Audi bring a circuit-specific rear wing and a diffuser sidewall winglet. Alpine’s only change is a reprofiled halo fairing with an added winglet. Ferrari and Aston Martin have submitted no updates for this event.

The Macarena Wing: Red Bull’s Fix, Ferrari’s Contrast

Red Bull’s decision to shelve its rotating Macarena rear wing followed two crashes linked to the design, Verstappen’s accident at the British Grand Prix and another during Austrian Grand Prix qualifying. The FIA also intervened, seeking assurances from both Red Bull and Ferrari, the only two teams running this style of upside-down rotating wing, that there were no wider safety concerns.

Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache said at Spa on Friday that the failure had been traced to a mechanical problem. Work is continuing at the team’s Milton Keynes factory to strengthen the wing before its planned return. Hungary is next weekend, and Red Bull are targeting that race for the wing’s comeback, but only once the revised part has passed its reliability checks.

Wache said the team’s discussions with the FIA had left the governing body satisfied with the proposed solution, but was clear Red Bull would not risk bringing the wing back before they were certain. Ferrari, by contrast, have continued racing their own rotating rear wing all season without incident. Team principal Fred Vasseur said the two designs are not directly comparable, since Ferrari’s wing does not rotate in the same way as Red Bull’s, and that the team took its time introducing the concept precisely to avoid the kind of reliability problems Red Bull have now run into.

Grid Penalties: Three Drivers Compromised Before Qualifying

The stewards confirmed three power-unit penalties following FP1. Norris used a fourth Control Electronics Unit and will drop 10 places on Sunday. Stroll used a fourth MGU-K and receives the same penalty. Hadjar used a fifth Internal Combustion Engine, fifth Turbocharger and fifth Exhaust Set, producing an accumulated 30-place drop. Under Article B2.5.4b.iv, any driver carrying more than 15 unserved grid-place penalties must start from the back.

That makes Hadjar’s Friday pace, fourth in FP1 and fifth in FP2, effectively academic for Sunday’s starting order. Norris and Stroll’s penalties will apply to wherever they qualify on Saturday.

Coffee Corner Take

Antonelli ended Friday fastest after finding time in different parts of the lap. Norris beat him through the middle sector, but Antonelli took enough back before and after it to finish 0.190s clear. At Spa, where teams have to balance the long flat-out sections against the loaded middle sector, that matters more than simply owning one part of the circuit.

The timesheet will not translate cleanly into Sunday’s grid. Hadjar has been quick all day, but his accumulated power-unit penalties guarantee a start from the back. Norris must recover from a 10-place drop, turning qualifying into a question of how much damage he can limit. Stroll faces the same penalty.

Red Bull have removed the Macarena wing after two crashes linked to the design, yet Verstappen still led FP1 using the older specification. Wache says the problem is mechanical and that the wing will not return until Red Bull can prove the fix is reliable, with Hungary next weekend the target. Ferrari’s version has covered more than 10,000 kilometres without the same failure, although Vasseur insists the mechanisms are different. That leaves Red Bull with a problem specific to its own design, not the wider concept.

The long runs settle nothing. Antonelli completed four representative laps, Norris managed two, and neither Piastri nor Hamilton produced a sample worth comparing. Verstappen’s seven-lap stint is the most useful run in the data, but not enough to establish the Sunday order. FP3 now carries more weight than usual.