Oscar Piastri showcased his dominance in the first practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix, setting a blistering pace that left his competitors trailing. The McLaren driver was 0.404 seconds quicker than Max Verstappen of Red Bull, with his teammate Lando Norris a further 0.1 seconds behind.

Piastri's performance was particularly strong in the middle sector of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, where he was nearly a second faster than Verstappen. While the Red Bull driver managed to claw back some time on the straights, Piastri's advantage was decisive over a full lap.

Norris, using the same higher-downforce setup as Piastri, made a mistake on his first flying lap on soft tires but managed to set his time on his second attempt, albeit with tires past their prime.

The session highlighted the classic setup dilemma at Spa: whether to trim the car for better straight-line speed and overtaking opportunities or to focus on cornering pace, which could leave the car vulnerable in racing situations.

Adding to the complexity is the forecast of rain for Sunday, which could significantly impact the race strategy. This weekend also features a sprint race, with sprint qualifying on Friday and the sprint race on Saturday, followed by the main Grand Prix qualifying and race on Sunday.

Mercedes' George Russell was fourth fastest, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc splitting him from his teammate Kimi Antonelli. Lewis Hamilton was seventh in the second Ferrari, with both cars sporting a new rear suspension design aimed at allowing them to run the car lower.

Max Verstappen, driving under new team principal Laurent Mekies for the first time, is using an upgrade on the Red Bull that includes new front wing and suspension aerodynamics and revised bodywork.

Williams also introduced an upgrade focused on a new floor, with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon finishing 11th and 12th respectively.