Belgian Grand Prix | Piastri wins the head position of the Sprint race

Oscar Piastri has ahead of Max Verstappen and deserved the head position for the sprint test of the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Belgium while Red Bull started his first race weekend since the departure of Christian Horner as team director.

Red Bull was the center of attention in F1 after the dismissal of Horner earlier this month, but Piastri, Verstappen and Lando Norris showed that the fight for the title remains dynamic on the eve of the sprint test, which will be disputed on Saturday.

Piastri was likely to be eliminated after spreading the track in the second part of the session. However, he rebounded to complete a lap in one minute 40,510 seconds, or 0.477 a second of better than Verstappen.

The Dutchman managed to slide his Red Bull between the McLaren of Piastri and that of Norris, relegated in third place to 0.618 seconds of his teammate.

The three pilots had finished in the same order during the only free test session on the sidelines of the Grand Prix, earlier Friday.

Norris’ emotional victory in the rain at the Grand Prix of Great Britain reduced Piastri’s advance in the cumulative classification to only eight points, while Piastri fulminated in the face of what he considered to be an unfair penalty.

Belgium is the first test of the Australian’s promise to exploit the “frustration” he felt in Great Britain to win more races.

At the wheel of his Ferrari, Charles Leclerc ranked fourth and the two Haas pilots had a productive day, Esteban Ocon taking fifth place and Oliver Bearman, the seventh.

Respectively eighth and ninth during the free tests at the wheel of their Aston Martin, the Quebecer launches Stroll (1: 42,832) and the Spanish Fernando Alonso (1: 42,453) ranked 15^e et 14^e During the qualifications for the sprint test.

Uncertainty in Red Bull

Laurent Mekies, the new director of the Formula 1 Red Bull stable, says he was not informed of the reasons why his parent company has chosen to dismiss Christian Horner.

While speculation is going well in the F1 circles, Red Bull did not explain why Horner was withdrawn from his post after 20 years. Mekies admitted that his appointment to replace Horner had been “a surprise for everyone”.

“We did not approach the” why “and the” why now “, but they described the type of objectives they had for the team for the future,” said Mekies, who is responsible for the team for the first time at the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend, after leaving the Sister Racing Bulls team.

Mekies said he was in contact with Horner, who, according to him, was nothing more than a support, even in the extremely difficult context “.

One element has not changed: the future of Verstappen remains uncertain. The Dutch pilot said on Thursday that Horner was like a “second family”, but that his departure would have no impact on his plans.

Verstappen said he was still hoping to stay with Red Bull’s rest for the rest of his career, but noted that “life is unpredictable”.

In an intriguing reversal, driver George Russell, of the Mercedes stable, told the Sky Sports broadcaster on Thursday that he believed that Verstappen and Mercedes remained in talks.

“I’m sure Max wants a quick car and if we find one, I’m sure it will cancel all other considerations,” said Mekies on Friday, adding that if this happens, it could become “an easy decision for max”.

Lewis Hamilton said it was a “crucial period” for him at Ferrari, but he nevertheless experienced new disappointments on Friday. Victim of a tail head in the last chicane, he had to be satisfied with the 18^e Place during qualifications for the sprint test.

Earlier during the day, he had finished in seventh place.

The seven -time world champion revealed on Thursday that he had set up a series of meetings not only with the best members of the team, but also with the management of the Ferrari company.

Its objective is to seek “structural adjustments” and to ensure that its voice is part of Ferrari’s development plans for 2026.

Consult the starting grid of the Sprint race