Max Verstappen saw off Lewis Hamilton as Mercedes trailed in opening practice for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Verstappen is only seventh in the world championship standings after a troubled year for the four-time champion’s Red Bull team.
However, Verstappen raised hope of being a contender to win at Spa-Francorchamps after leading the way in the first running of the weekend.
Verstappen finished 0.145 seconds clear of Hamilton, who was half a tenth quicker than Charles Leclerc in the other Ferrari.
Isack Hadjar underlined Red Bull’s pace by clocking the fourth best time with Oscar Piastri next up for McLaren.
Mercedes have been on pole position at every race so far, but championship leader Kimi Antonelli finished only sixth in first practice – half a second behind Verstappen – with George Russell even further back in eighth. Lando Norris split the Mercedes duo in seventh.
A frustrated Antonelli took aim at Williams’ Carlos Sainz when he called the Spaniard an “idiot” – seemingly aggrieved that he had been blocked midway through a quick lap.
Verstappen’s future remains uncertain with Red Bull failing to deliver him a car that can challenge at the sharp end of the grid. His representatives are exploring Verstappen’s options.
Verstappen, who has a break clause in his contract which allows him to leave Red Bull if he is outside of the top two in the championship at the summer break which follows next weekend’s race in Hungary, crashed out of the last round in Silverstone to leave him 103 points adrift of Antonelli.
But Verstappen’s early sighter here will provide him with confidence heading into the remainder of the weekend.
The second session – which gets under way at 1700 local time (4pm BST) – will provide a clearer indicator as to whether Verstappen can carry his early pace into Saturday and beyond.
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