Antonelli Dominates Belgian GP Practice as Mercedes Leads Spa Championship Battle

18 July 2026 · Source balance: Centre

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli proved the strongest driver over the Belgian Grand Prix practice sessions at Spa-Francorchamps, topping all three free practice sessions across Friday and Saturday. Antonelli set the fastest time of one minute forty-five point nine-nine zero seconds in final practice, finishing ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris and Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Verstappen topped the opening session but finished nearly half a second slower by Friday afternoon, indicating Mercedes found superior setup balance overnight. Multiple red flags disrupted the sessions, particularly affecting long-run data collection. Several grid penalties loom for Sunday's race: Norris faces a ten-place penalty and Hadjar a twenty-place penalty for exceeding power unit component allocations. Aston Martin struggled significantly, fighting to stay within the qualifying threshold. The practice sessions tested critical energy management strategies for 2026's new harvesting regulations. Based on race simulation data, Antonelli's consistency showed clear pace advantage over rivals, averaging two-tenths of a second per lap faster than closest competitor Charles Leclerc in the long-run simulations.