McLaren’s Lando Norris topped Friday Practice for 2024 Belgian Grand Prix.
Norris finished FP1 just over a second off the lead pace set by Max Verstappen but rebounded in FP2 to set the fastest overall lap time ahead of his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri.
FP1
Mercedes’ George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were first out on track on the medium tyre, with Hamilton setting 1m 45.588 as the initial benchmark, whilst RB’s Daniel Ricciardo spun on the exit of La Source in the fifth minute.
Verstappen however had opted for the hard tyre and quickly gained control with a 1m 44.706, but he was able to find 0.182 on his following two push laps to lower the fastest lap to 1m 44.524 just 15 minutes into the session.
Just before the half-hour mark, teams switched focus to the soft tyre and Russell posted 1m 44.225 as the first soft-tyre timed lap, only for Verstappen to post 1m 43.372 on the half-hour mark to ultimately top the session.
Piastri finished second from Williams’ Alex Albon as everyone set their fastest lap on soft tyres – aside from Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, as the Frenchman failed to set a time due to a suspected water leak.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1m 43.372 |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | + 0.531 |
| 3 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 0.727 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | + 0.853 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | + 0.907 |
| 6 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.934 |
| 7 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | + 0.957 |
| 8 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 1.043 |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | + 1.202 |
| 10 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 1.327 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | + 1.461 |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | + 1.549 |
| 13 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | + 1.578 |
| 14 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | + 1.784 |
| 15 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | + 1.939 |
| 16 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | + 2.192 |
| 17 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | + 2.273 |
| 18 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | + 2.440 |
| 19 | Guanyu Zhou | Sauber | + 2.623 |
| 20 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | No Time |
Qualifying
Gasly was first out on track and set a benchmark 1m 44.594 on the medium tyres, but Verstappen went 1.138 seconds quicker, which was lowered to 1m 43.339 in the 13th minute to head Norris – who was the sole driver to do a soft tyre opening run.
With a 40% risk of rain, Ferrari opted to do their soft-tyre Qualifying simulations early, which saw Sainz go fastest on 1m 43.098 and 0.241s clear of Verstappen in the 23rd minute.
Piastri two minutes later posted 1m 42.475 of which Verstappen fell 0.002s shy on his Qualifying simulation attempt.
Norris though waited until the 33rd minute to top the session with 1m 42.260 in a McLaren one-two from Piastri.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1m 42.260 |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | + 0.215 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | + 0.217 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.577 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | + 0.838 |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | + 1.030 |
| 7 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | + 1.141 |
| 8 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | + 1.225 |
| 9 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | + 1.244 |
| 10 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | + 1.259 |
| 11 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 1.272 |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | + 1.278 |
| 13 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | + 1.415 |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | + 1.563 |
| 15 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | + 1.569 |
| 16 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | + 1.586 |
| 17 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 1.632 |
| 18 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | + 1.966 |
| 19 | Guanyu Zhou | Sauber | + 2.042 |
| 20 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | + 2.088 |
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