#F1 #BelgianGP FP2: @LandoNorris heads @McLarenF1 one-two.

Norris Belgian GP FP2 – Lando Norris lead from team-mate Oscar Piastri in a McLaren one-two in the afternoon FP2 session at the Belgian GP as championship leader Max Verstappen completed the top three for Red Bull.

Norris posted the benchmark of a 1:42.260 on the C4 red side-walled softer compound and was 0.215 seconds faster than team-mate Piastri as Verstappen was a further 0.217 seconds adrift of the Briton in third.

The result showed a significant twist in the weekend’s early story after Verstappen’s domination in the earlier FP1 session, whilst the pressure increased on his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez given his gap to the Dutchman with the Milton Keynes based-outfit to decide on his Formula 1 future following this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.

Under heavier skies at the Circuit De Spa-Francorchamps compared to Free Practice 1 earlier on, Verstappen rapidly again moved to the top of the pile with his early stint on the C3 yellow-marked mediums.

Verstappen registered the initial benchmark of a 1:43.456, which he then improved to a 1:43.339 with a second flyer on his first set of rubber – heading Norris’s MCL38 entry, which unusually for Free Practice 2, was fitted with the red-marked C4 softer compound from the go.

Norris was 0.1 seconds adrift of the Dutchman best time after his opening hot-lap, which increased to 0.2 seconds after the Red Bull driver improved, with the former’s second flying lap on his softs ending up 0.002 seconds off on his personal best at this phase of proceedings.

The field returned to the pits around the 15-minute mark, before Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz emerged and began the qualifying simulation runs through the midway point of the hour-long session.

The Spaniard jumped ahead of Verstappen’s first benchmark setting a 1:43.098, before Piastri became the next driver to have a shot on the softer compound.

The Australian demoted Sainz with a 1:42.475 – despite a scary moment coming out of turn nine, the last sequence of Les Combes, where the McLaren driver dipped his left rear in the gravel trap.

Verstappen then put on a set of the C4’s but could not beat Piastri’s time as his softs effort fell just 0.002 seconds off, with the RB20 entry losing time in sector three compared to the Dutchman’s previous personal best.

With Sainz pushed down the classification and then beaten by Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc to put the pairing in fourth and fifth respectively, Norris then re-joined on a fresh set of softs for a proper qualifying simulation stint.

The Briton then jumped to the quickest time in sectors two and three to post a 1:42.260, which put him 0.215 seconds clear of team-mate Piastri and 0.217 seconds over Verstappen.

Behind the front-runners, Mercedes’ George Russell was the lead Silver Arrow driver in sixth, with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon taking seventh.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen took eighth as Red Bull’s Perez and Mercedes’ Sir Lewis Hamilton completed the top 10.

Aston Martin duo Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso finished Free Practice 2 outside the top ten in 11^th and 12^th respectively as Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas was 13^th in the order.

RB’s Daniel Ricciardo ended the day 14^th (with the Australian having to stop early after feeling an issue of a suspected roll-bar becoming loose) and in-front of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly who placed 15^th and MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Nico Hulkenberg who came 16^th in the classification.

Williams Racing’s Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant were 17^th and 18^th respectively as Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda finished at the rear.

You can see the full Formula 1 Rolex Belgian Grand Prix 2024 Free Practice 2 Results classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2024/races/1242/belgium/practice/2

Famin to leave role as Alpine Team Principal

Famin leaves Alpine F1 – BWT Alpine F1 Team have announced that Bruno Famin will be leaving his role as Team Principal.

The Frenchman was confirmed as the Anglo-French alliance squad’s Team Principal before the start of the current campaign, following an interim period in charge after the departure of previous Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer at last season’s Belgian GP.

Now that this season’s Belgian GP, it was announced that Famin will be leaving his Team Principal role by the end of August and will be in control of all other motorsport activities of the Renault Group at their headquarters in Viry-Chatillon.

BWT Alpine F1 Team stated that “A new Team Principal will be announced in due course.”

The news came after several changes at the Enstone based-outfit across recent months, with the team undergoing a technical restructure, which saw Technical Director Matt Harman and Head of Aerodynamics Dirk De Beer leave earlier in the year.

David Sanchez was announced as Executive Director in May, having previously worked for the team early stages of his career. He was later joined alongside Michael Broadhurst and Vin Dhanani who were brought in as Chief Aerodynamicist and Head of Vehicle Performance respectively.

In June, Flavio Briatore was appointed as Executive Advisor, with his role entailing to be “predominately focused on top level areas of the team.”

This included “scouting top talents and providing insights on the driver market, challenging the existing project by assessing the current structure and advising on some strategic matters within the sport”.

With the drivers, changes are coming for 2025, after Esteban Ocon’s announcement that he will leave the Enstone based-squad at the end of the season to move to Haas. Whilst Pierre Gasly has signed a three-year contract extension, and the identity of his new team-mate has not been unveiled.

#F1 #BelgianGP FP1: @Max33Verstappen quickest ahead of @OscarPiastri by 0.531s.

@HaasF1Team sign @OconEsteban on multi-year deal. #F1 #F1DriverMarket

#F1 @Rolex #BelgianGP 2024 Preview. #Formula1 #BelgiumGP