Formula 1 was back in action at Spa-Francorchamps after a two-week break. Carlos Sainz had troubles straight away, saying over the radio that he couldn’t accelerate. His team told him there was a serious issue and asked him to return slowly to the garage. Lance Stroll also came back to the pits early as Aston Martin worked on his car.

Most drivers started the session on hard tyres. Max Verstappen, using mediums, was the first to set a fast time and went over half a second quicker than Lando Norris. Lewis Hamilton had some smoke from his Ferrari and ran wide twice, later telling his team that the car felt unstable at the rear.

Several other drivers made mistakes. Kimi Antonelli and Franco Colapinto both locked up under braking, while Gabriel Bortoleto complained over the radio after being blocked by Hamilton through the fast Eau Rouge section. George Russell also had to go off the track to avoid Colapinto in a separate incident, which the stewards later reviewed.

Charles Leclerc moved to the top of the timesheet briefly, before going off the track to avoid Alex Albon. As the session went on, drivers began switching to soft tyres. Lance Stroll set the fastest lap on softs, but soon after, Oscar Piastri took over at the top with a strong lap.

Verstappen was not able to match the McLaren’s pace and reported problems with his Red Bull. Norris also made a mistake on his fastest lap attempt. In the end, Piastri stayed ahead with the best time of the session.

Oscar Piastri was the fastest driver in FP1, finishing first for McLaren with a lap time of 1:42.022. Max Verstappen took second place, 0.404 seconds behind. Lando Norris was third, just over half a second off the lead. George Russell ended up in fourth place for Mercedes. Charles Leclerc was fifth for Ferrari after leading briefly. Kimi Antonelli, Russell’s teammate, finished sixth in his first Spa practice session in F1. Lewis Hamilton was seventh, also for Ferrari, despite early issues. Lance Stroll ended the session in eighth for Aston Martin. Fernando Alonso was just behind him in ninth. Rounding out the top ten was Isack Hadjar in the Racing Bulls car, only a tenth of a second slower than Alonso.