Belgian Grand Prix: Friday Practice Recap

FP1 saw both Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher venture out onto Formula 1’s longest circuit layout on Pirelli Cinturato Green intermediate tires following light drizzle preceding the start of the opening 60-minute session. With the track predominantly dry, both subsequently returned promptly and commenced their official run plans – Magnussen running first on the P Zero White hard compound. 

Schumacher, who is expected to start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid due to a grid penalty for exceeding the allowed number of PU elements and RNC, opted to start on the Red soft tires. 

Magnussen then pitted onto the softs, delivering a best time of 1:50.982 (P17) before a high voltage system issue forced the Dane to park his VF-22 at the exit of La Source – a red flag stop followed to recover his stricken car. Schumacher’s best time on the soft rubber was a 1:51.259 (P18), the German wrapping his session with a lap on intermediates as the rain returned.

Magnussen was back in action in FP2 after a battery swap between the sessions. He started the second outing of the day on a set of Yellow medium tires before switching to softs for a quali simulation – Magnussen delivering a best time of 1:48.208 (P17) on the compound. 

Schumacher’s fastest time in FP2, also set on the soft rubber, was a 1:49.941 (P20), with his run plan then consisting of a long-run on high-fuel utilizing both the hard and soft tires. Ultimately both drivers had their distance runs cut short when conditions changed as rain once again interrupted the final 15 minutes of the hour-long session.

Haas F1 Team ran a total of 66 laps on Friday across FP1 and FP2 – 28 by Magnussen and 38 by Schumacher.

Kevin Magnussen, Driver No. 20, Haas F1 Team

“We had an issue and had to stop but we changed it for FP2 and had no further issues. I got a bit of running in FP1 so didn’t lose out too much and then it started raining so it’s fine. FP2 was ok in low-fuel but I didn’t really get any running on high-fuel because it started raining just enough to make it irrelevant, so we still have some question marks on high-fuel. The car felt ok on quali runs and we just need to as always find a bit more pace and work on things tonight.”

 

Mick Schumacher, Driver No. 47, Haas F1 Team

“It was mixed conditions out there so with the upgrade it was hard to feel a big difference and we’re on a very different track compared to Budapest, but it felt good. We obviously focused on different things compared to Kevin but we still learned a lot on track, and I enjoyed driving every minute out there so looking forward to tomorrow.”

 

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team

“It was not an easy day today knowing that Mick is starting from the back of the field, so we ran a completely different program for him. Kevin had an issue with his energy storage unit in FP1 and the team did a good job to get him ready for FP2. It was a little bit of a mixed session, it wasn’t perfect, but normally in FP1 and FP2 we’re running a little bit behind but we’ll make sure tomorrow we get back to where we want to be.”

 

Today's Data

Event: Free Practice 1 & 2 for the Belgian Grand Prix – Friday August 26
Location: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
Layout: 7.004-kilometer (4.352-mile), 19-turn circuit
FP1 & FP2 Weather: Cloudy with Showers
Drivers: Kevin Magnussen & Mick Schumacher 

Free Practice 1 Rundown:

Magnussen: 17th overall (1:50.982), 9 laps completed
Schumacher: 18th overall (1:51.259), 15 laps completed
Fastest: Carlos Sainz of Scuderia Ferrari (1:46.538)

Free Practice 2 Rundown:

Magnussen: 17th overall (1:48.208), 19 laps completed
Schumacher: 20th overall (1:49.941), 23 laps completed
Fastest: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing (1:45.507)