2024 Belgian Grand Prix: McLaren Lead the Way in Second Practice

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri set the pace in Free Practice Two for the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix, ahead of Max Verstappen, who dominated the first session earlier in the day.

The drivers got onto track for a second hour of running at Circuit de Spa Francochamps and the weekend is set to get even better with rain expected on Saturday and Championship leader Verstappen set to take a 10-place grid penalty, potentially giving Norris and McLaren F1 Team the chance to move closer to Verstappen in both Championships. 

Norris, Piastri and Verstappen rounded out the top three and it was Scuderia Ferrari that looked like the third quickest team, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. rounding out the top five. George Russell was the lead Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team driver in sixth, ahead of Esteban Ocon, who recently announced he’ll be driving for MoneyGram Haas F1 Team in 2025 after his departure BWT Alpine F1 Team at the end of 2024.

Kevin Magnussen, who is without a race seat in 2025 as it stands, popped up in eight for Haas, ahead of Sergio Pérez. The Mexican has almost a second off Verstappen in Free Practice One and it was the same story in the second practice session on a weekend where he needs to perform or he may potentially be replaced in the second half of the 2024 season.

Lewis Hamilton was the last driver inside the top ten, ahead of Lance Stroll, who was just +0.006s quicker than his teammate, Fernando Alonso.

Valtteri Bottas finished in a respectable thirteenth for Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, who continues to dominate Yuki Tsunoda so far this weekend. 

Pierre Gasly was fifteenth fastest, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Alex Albon. Logan Sargeant and Zhou Guanyu continue to struggle for pace, while Tsunoda was last and half a second away from his Visa Cash App RB teammate.