Ferrari Completes Belgian GP Friday Practice; Hamilton Fourth, Leclerc Eleventh After Track Limits Penalty
Scuderia Ferrari HP completed Friday practice at Spa-Francorchamps, with Lewis Hamilton fourth and Charles Leclerc 11th after a track limits penalty, as the team gathered data for qualifying.
- 76
- 1'46"691
- Deleted for track limits at Eau Rouge
- Hamilton 1'47"215, Leclerc 1'47"277
What Happened
Scuderia Ferrari HP completed its planned programme across Friday's free practice sessions for the Belgian Grand Prix, using the two hours to gather data on the SF-26's behavior on the Medium and Soft compounds and to work on both qualifying and race pace. The team covered a total of 76 laps across both sessions.
In FP1, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc started on Medium tyres, completing nine laps each before switching to Softs. Hamilton posted a best time of 1'47"215 and Leclerc a 1'47"277. Both drivers finished with long runs on used tyres—Soft for Hamilton, Medium for Leclerc—completing 22 laps each.
FP2 was interrupted early by a red flag to clear gravel from another car, then later by Pierre Gasly's accident, leaving only two minutes at the end. Hamilton set the fourth-fastest time with a 1'46"691. Leclerc's best lap of 1'47"035 was deleted for exceeding track limits at Eau Rouge; his second attempt yielded 1'47"468 for 11th. Hamilton completed 15 laps and Leclerc 17 in the session.
“We got through a good amount of work today and gathered plenty of useful information across both sessions. The balance of the car is generally good, but there are a few areas where we know we can improve, particularly through the middle sector. Tonight we'll go through all the data with the engineers, refine the set-up and look for those small gains that can make the difference ahead of qualifying”
“We did a lot of work over the course of the day, and there is still some room for improvement in terms of our competitiveness. We will fine tune our setup ahead of tomorrow and work on finding some more lap time for qualifying.”
Previously from Ferrari N.V.
Ferrari arrived at Spa-Francorchamps after recent wins at the Spanish and British Grands Prix, with Leclerc confident following his Silverstone victory and Hamilton praising the team's steady stream of small upgrades.
- Lewis Hamilton Praises Ferrari's Continuous Improvements Ahead of Belgian Grand Prix
- Leclerc Confident After Silverstone Win, Adapts Driving Style for Belgian GP
- Ferrari Heads to Belgian Grand Prix with Confidence After Recent Wins
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Ferrari N.V.'s official releases.
Why this matters
This Friday practice session is crucial for Ferrari to fine-tune its SF-26 car for the Belgian Grand Prix. The data gathered on tire compounds and setup will influence qualifying and race strategy. Track limits penalties and red flags highlight the challenges drivers face, directly affecting the team's competitive position.
Terms in This Story
- SF-26
- Ferrari's car designation for the 2026 Formula 1 season.
- Medium and Soft compounds
- Types of tires with different rubber hardness, affecting grip and durability.
- Eau Rouge
- A famous high-speed corner at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.
- Track limits
- The defined boundaries of the racing surface; exceeding them can result in lap time deletion or penalties.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.