FP2: Norris heads McLaren one-two in second Spa practice

McLaren's Lando Norris set the benchmark with a time of 1m42.260s, beating his team-mate Oscar Piastri and reigning champion Max Verstappen by two tenths of a second. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo reports on Free Practice 2.

After Max Verstappen dominated the opening session at the Belgian Grand Prix, star of last weekend's Budapest race, McLaren bounced back in the second sixty-minute practice.

Lando Norris put in a late effort to set the benchmark with a 1m42.260s on the freshly-resurfaces Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, beating his team-mate Oscar Piastri by two tenths of a second.

The championship runaway leader Max Verstappen finished in P3, only two thousands of a second than what the Hungararoring race winner managed.

Ferrari expected to struggle at Spa, suggesting that the high-speed corners of the flowing 7.004km track will bring the bouncing back which has held them back in recent rounds. However, the Scuderia presented itself in a slightly stronger form with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz taking fourth and fifth respectively.

Running a heavily-modified floor at Spa, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton ended up sixth and tenths fastest, but there is more to expect from both drivers as they have not been able to put their qualifying lap on Pirelli's soft tyres together.

Aston Martin hovered outside the top-10 with Lance Stroll pipping Fernando Alonso by just 0.006s, with Valtteri Bottas continuing Sauber’s slight upturn in form with 13th.

RB's Daniel Ricciardo finished down in P14 and team mate Yuki Tsunoda – who will start at the back after a string of new engine component changes that will confine him to the back – took only 20th.

Pierre Gasly was 15th, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, the Williams duo of Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant and Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu.