F1 News: Verstappen tops opening practice for 2024 Belgian GP
Facing a 10-place grid penalty for a 5th ICE engine change, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen turned a lap of 1m43.372s to lead opening practice for the 2024 Belgian GP at Spa Francorchamps.
–by Mark Cipolloni–
The winner last week in Hungary, Oscar Piastri was 2nd quick for McLaren, 0.531s behind Verstappen.
Alex Albon was an impressive third for Williams, 0.727s behind Verstappen.
![Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on July 26, 2024 in Spa, Belgium. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool](https://www.autoracing1.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/f1/spa/verstappen1.jpg)
The Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top-5, 0.853s and 0.907s behind the Dutchman respectively.
Esteban Ocon missed out the most in that session, managing just the one out-lap before being called back to the pits with a water leak issue. It couldn’t be resolved, so he sat out the entire session – leaving the Frenchman very much on the back foot now for the weekend as a whole.
Max starts his weekend in style then, with a 1m 43.372s, 0.531s ahead of Piastri and 0.727s clear of Albon.
Yes, he has that grid penalty coming, but even so – Verstappen has to be happy with that gap to the rest.
It’s forecast to be dry today, wet tomorrow – so the teams need to get those longer runs done in FP2, so they have plenty of data for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
2024 Belgian GP Practice 1 Results
Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time | Behind | Laps |
1 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren F1 Team | 1m43.372s | +0.000s | 23 |
1 | Max Verstappen | NED | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m43.903s | +0.531s | 24 |
3 | Alex Albon | THA | Williams Racing | 1m44.099s | +0.727s | 21 |
4 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m44.225s | +0.853s | 23 |
5 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m44.279s | +0.907s | 21 |
6 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari | 1m44.306s | +0.934s | 25 |
7 | Sergio Perez | MEX | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m44.329s | +0.957s | 22 |
8 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 Team | 1m44.415s | +1.043s | 24 |
9 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Scuderia Ferrari | 1m44.574s | +1.202s | 24 |
10 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m44.699s | +1.327s | 20 |
11 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m44.833s | +1.461s | 22 |
12 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m44.921s | +1.549s | 19 |
13 | Daniel Ricciardo | AUS | Visa Cash App RB F1 Team | 1m44.950s | +1.578s | 23 |
14 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 1m45.155s | +1.783s | 21 |
15 | Logan Sargeant | USA | Williams Racing | 1m45.311s | +1.939s | 20 |
16 | Yuki Tsunoda | JPN | Visa Cash App RB F1 Team | 1m45.564s | +2.192s | 23 |
17 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m45.645s | +2.273s | 19 |
18 | Kevin Magnussen | DEN | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m45.812s | +2.440s | 19 |
19 | Zhou Guanyu | CHN | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 1m45.995s | +2.623s | 23 |
20 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | No Time Set | 1 |