Kiwi F1 driver Liam Lawson has opened his Belgian Grand Prix weekend with a top-10 practice result, despite missing out on Racing Bull's latest car upgrade.
Lawson was 10th fastest in the second practise session (FP2), after setting a fastest lap time of 1m 47.434s, having also placed 11th in the opening practice session (FP1) earlier in the day.
It comes after his teammate Arvid Lindblad was chosen to receive new upgrades to his VCARB 03 for the weekend ahead of Lawson, despite the Kiwi's strong form so far this season.
Lindblad received an upgraded cooling system for the Belgian Grand Prix and finished ahead of Lawson in both practise sessions, including by just 0.140 seconds in FP2.
Reflecting on his practice session, Lawson said he was "going to have to bring something a little bit extra" to match the upgraded Lindblad.
"We've had a fast car regardless. This is a car that I ran in Silverstone, with a couple more things, but it's been working well. I'll try and do the best I can tomorrow," the 24-year-old said.
Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane said the new cooling system was only available for one car at Spa-Francorchamps, with Lindblad earning it after outqualifying Lawson at the previous round in Silverstone.
"I suggested the simple option, to make it fair, to upgrade no cars for Spa and then both for Budapest. [Lawson and Lindblad] looked at me like I was crazy. I wouldn’t have ever done that," Permane explained.
“The next thing I said was we could flip a coin, or make it a bit of fun and say whoever qualifies in front in Silverstone gets the upgrade. They both signed up for it, and that’s what we did.”
Antonelli fastest
Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes made a slow start to Friday practice, but the day ended with the 19-year-old Italian back in first place.
Antonelli set the fastest time of the day in the second session, going 0.192 of a second faster than McLaren's Lando Norris — who has a grid penalty for Monday's race — with Max Verstappen of Red Bull the only other driver within half a second.
Hamilton was fourth-fastest for Ferrari, and Antonelli's teammate George Russell was only eighth, as drivers' track time was limited by a heavy crash for Pierre Gasly.
Verstappen led the way in the first session by 0.145 of a second from Hamilton, with Leclerc third, .208 off the pace, as Ferrari showed signs of building on Leclerc’s surprise win at the British Grand Prix. Antonelli was only sixth and Russell eighth.
Russell's struggles
While not everything is going Antonelli's way, at least he knows why. His more experienced Mercedes teammate Russell is finding his problems harder to fix.
A second-place finish for Russell at the British GP was more about luck than speed, as he benefited from Antonelli's car trouble, a crash for Verstappen and a strategy blunder for Hamilton.
Russell cut Antonelli's lead to 25 points but said he felt “less satisfied” with that home podium finish than he had been with breaking down from the lead in Canada.
The fast, sweeping Belgian circuit has key similarities to Silverstone. That could pose a challenge to Russell and offer an opportunity to Ferrari.
Leclerc and Ferrari were surprised he had the pace to win in Britain and they've been working since then to understand what worked so well to deliver that pace this weekend, too.
Mercedes remains the team to beat and “should be a lot further ahead" in the standings by now, Hamilton told Sky Sports.
Norris hits another setback
One driver who almost certainly won't be in contention for the win is Norris. The defending champion comes into this week's race with a 10-place grid penalty after McLaren switched out a troublesome electrical part on his car.
His teammate Piastri spent Thursday stressing he trusts McLaren's assurances he'll stay with the team next year despite reported interest in signing Verstappen.
Four-time world champion Verstappen left his future open Thursday but had warm words for Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies, who started his tenure a year ago with a stunning win for Verstappen in a sprint in Belgium.
After Verstappen fumed at Red Bull's “dangerous” car after back-to-back crashes caused by rear wing failures, the team is going back to an older design this week, potentially affecting Verstappen's pace.
Qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix will take place Sunday (2am NZT), followed by the main race on Monday (1am NZT).
- Additional reporting by AP
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