Belgian GP: Kimi Antonelli tops Practice Two at Spa as his Mercedes team-mate George Russell struggles to eighth

17.07.2026, 19:22 skysports.com

World championship leader Kimi Antonelli produced a dominant display to top second practice at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver had been uncharacteristically off the pace in first practice earlier on Friday, but rediscovered the speed he has consistently shown throughout the season to finish almost two tenths clear of McLaren's Lando Norris.

Having topped first practice for Red Bull, Max Verstappen was almost half a second down on Antonelli in third amid some furious complaints on team radio over his car's gear shifts.

Antonelli will be further buoyed by the distance he was able to put between himself and his nearest title rivals.

The 19-year-old's Mercedes team-mate George Russell, who is 25 points back in the standings in second, was a massive 1.285s off the pace in eighth.

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Lewis Hamilton, who is seven points further back from Russell, was fourth for Ferrari but trailed Antonelli by almost three quarters of a second as he just edged out Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar.

While the outcome offered little encouragement for his title hopes, Hamilton was at least able to outpace his team-mate Charles Leclerc, who could only manage 11th following his British Grand Prix victory.

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Oscar Piastri was almost a second off the pace in sixth for McLaren, but did have to content with a hydraulic issue that kept him off track for the first 20 minutes of the session.

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Franco Colapinto impressively outpaced Russell to take seventh for Alpine, while Racing Bulls duo Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson continued their consistent form to complete the top 10.

A big crash for the other Alpine driver Pierre Gasly saw the final quarter of the session all but lost to a red-flag stoppage, with drivers only able to return to the track with two minutes remaining to perform practice starts.

That was the second red flag of the session after there had earlier been a short delay to clear gravel from the track after it had been whipped onto the circuit by a car running wide.

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More to follow...

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Saturday July 189am: F3 Sprint11.15am: Belgian GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)1.15pm: F2 Sprint2.15pm: Belgian GP Qualifying build-up*3pm: BELGIAN GP QUALIFYING*

Sunday July 197.30am: F3 Feature Race9am: F2 Feature Race10.45am: Porsche Supercup12.30pm: Belgian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday2pm: THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX4pm: Belgian GP reaction: Chequered Flag

*Also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1's summer run continues with the Belgian Grand Prix at legendary Spa-Francorchamps this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime