It had been a foggy morning at the Belgian GP, and the F2 drivers were prepared to kick off their practice session. With F3 practice cancelled due to the poor visibility, the F2 session began cautiously behind the safety car.
Green light for F2 practice
Once the green light appeared, the cars headed out onto the track. The cold conditions made for a cautious start, with most drivers using the early laps to build tyre temperature and gather data.
The first few cars remained on track to maximise their running time, especially with such unpredictable weather. Roman Staněk initially set the pace with a 2:01.372 in the early stages. Gabriele Minì soon bettered that with a 2:00.843, only for Staněk to respond and briefly reclaim the top spot. But Minì wasn’t done—he delivered a 2:00.093 to put his PREMA machine back on top.
While the drivers pushed for flying laps, they also remained wary of the conditions. Joshua Dürksen looked quick, but his time was deleted for a track limits infringement—a warning to the rest of the field ahead of the weekend.
Minì shoots to the top
PREMA typically performed well at Spa, having secured the most pole positions at the circuit. Minì looked like the one to beat, while his teammate Sebastían Montoya slotted into tenth place.
Minì then broke through the two-minute barrier with a 1:59.918, strengthening his hold on P1. Dino Beganovic emerged from the pitlane, while Luke Browning returned to the garage.
Victor Martins and Alex Dunne also dipped under the two-minute mark, sitting second and third respectively, with just 0.063 seconds covering the top three. Then Dunne went fastest overall, clocking a 1:59.838.
After a busy run of laps, most of the grid returned to the pits. Sami Meguetounif received a black and white flag for exceeding track limits.
Final runs underway
With nine minutes remaining, the final runs of the session got underway. Championship leader Richard Verschoor briefly moved up to fifth before Red Bull Junior Arvid Lindblad edged him out. Fellow Red Bull junior Pepe Martí sat in 15th, just ahead of Ollie Goethe, with a little over three minutes remaining.
Few drivers managed to improve in the closing stages. Dunne still led Minì by 0.080s, with Martins a tenth behind in third.
Right at the chequered flag, Dunne found more pace and ended the session on top with a 1:59.519. Minì wound up second, 0.399s behind, with Martins just 0.4s off the lead in third.
Amaury Cordeel and Jak Crawford rounded out the top five in free practice.
F2 Belgian GP Practice results
- Dunne
- Minì
- Martins
- Cordeel
- Crawford
- Miyata
- Verschoor
- Lindblad
- Dürksen
- Staněk
- Browning
- Fornaroli
- Montoya
- Meguetounif
- Bennet
- Maini
- Martí
- Villagoméz
- Goethe
- Esterson
- Beganovic
