F1 2024 Belgium Grand Prix LIVE: FP1 schedule, start time, updates and results at Spa-Francorchamps

The RB spins at turn 1 – La Source – and the Australian is lucky not to clatter in a heavier fashion into the barrier!

He regroups and spins back round to get back on track… all fine.

The first hour of practice gets going then at the 19-turn, 7km Spa-Franocrchamps track, one of the most iconic and picturesque circuits on the calendar!

Mercedes have got a few upgrades on their car while Red Bull, interestingly, have abandoned their upgrades from Budapest…

We’re a few minutes away now from first practice at Spa-Francorchamps!

In contrast to the weather forecast, it’s dry and sunny in the Ardennes forest – perfect conditions to get up to speed at what is the longest circuit on the F1 calendar!

Who will set the early pace?

Sergio Perez would not get a seat at Williams right now amid his Red Bull struggles, says former F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve.

The Mexican driver has endured a torrid few months, scoring just 15 points in his last six appearances, with team boss Christian Horner admitting that the 34-year-old’s form is currently “unsustainable.”

Amid speculation Perez – who only signed a new deal until the end of 2025 a month ago – could be dropped mid-season, the Mexican spun in Q1 and crashed out, leaving him 16^th on the grid for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

And 1997 world champion Villeneuve, who was highly critical of Daniel Ricciardo last month, insisted in a conversation about Williams’s driver choice for 2025 that Perez should not be on their list.

1. Max Verstappen – 265 points

2. Lando Norris – 189 points

3. Charles Leclerc – 162 points

4. Carlos Sainz – 154 points

5. Oscar Piastri – 149 points

6. Lewis Hamilton – 125 points

7. Sergio Perez – 124 points

8. George Russell – 116 points

9. Fernando Alonso – 45 points

10. Lance Stroll – 24 points

11. Nico Hulkenberg – 22 points

12. Yuki Tsunoda – 22 points

13. Daniel Ricciardo – 11 points

14. Oliver Bearman – 6 points

15. Pierre Gasly – 6 points

16. Kevin Magnussen – 5 points

17. Alex Albon – 4 points

18. Esteban Ocon – 3 points

19. Zhou Guanyu – 0 points

20. Logan Sargeant – 0 points

21. Valtteri Bottas – 0 points

The Red Bull driver really needs a strong race at Spa after a few months to forget and his seat very much in danger now…

• Free practice 1: 12:30pm
• Free practice 2: 4pm

• Free practice 3: 11:30am
• Qualifying: 3pm

As the laps remaining tumbled down at the end of the Hungarian Grand Prix, there was one topic on everyone’s lips as a papaya storm brewed at the front. Will Lando Norris – Formula One’s Mr Popular – follow the instructions of his team? Or, in a shock twist, won’t he?

Norris, a championship contender for the first time, was put in an unenviable position by McLaren at the Hungaroring on Sunday. Having regained the lead of the race through the team’s questionable pit-stop strategy, the British driver was extending his lead on the track from teammate Oscar Piastri, originally in first after a super move at the start.

The gap was six seconds and there were less than five laps remaining. With his race engineer Will Joseph imploring his driver to follow protocol – “please, do it now” – Norris had to swing one way or the other. Be selfless, or selfish?

The Belgian Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom – and ESPN in the United States. Sky’s coverage of Sunday’s race starts at 12:30pm (BST).

You can watch highlights on free-to-air Channel 4 at 7:30pm (BST) on Saturday evening for qualifying and 6:30pm on Sunday evening for the race.

Sky Sports subscribers can watch all the action at Spa-Francorchamps on the Sky Go app. If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.

If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch the Belgian Grand Prix then you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our vpn roundup is here to help: get great deals on the best VPNs in the market.

Danish driver Kevin Magnussen, who rejoined the team in 2022 after a previous four-year stint between 2017-2020, has not had his contract extended by the American-owned F1 outfit.

And French driver Ocon, currently racing for Alpine, has been confirmed as the driver to replace Magnussen as Ayao Komatsu wields the changes for next season.

Ocon, 27, teams up with British teenager and Ferrari academy star Bearman, who has already been confirmed as a Haas driver next year.