Bottas and Verstappen won the Belgian F1 Grand Prix

Dutch driver Max Verstappen was the fastest on the training day before the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, but crashed at the end of the afternoon races. The Red Bull driver surpassed Valtteri Bottas from Mercedes by 41 thousandths, who won the first races for a change. Acting champion Lewis Hamilton tried new configurations this morning and was eighteenth. In the second part, however, he set the third best time.

Red Bull rider Max Verstappen makes a turn during training for the Belgian Grand Prix.

Francisco Seco, ČTK / AP

The 23-year-old Verstappen, who is losing eight points to Hamilton in the standings, wants to forget about the previous two unsuccessful races after the summer break, of which he gained only two points. In Britain, he paid for the accident with Hamilton and resigned, in Hungary he commuted with a damaged car after a collision with Land Norris.

He finished second in the morning and was the fastest in the afternoon. At the very end, however, it crashed and broke the right rear suspension. The training was then terminated prematurely. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari also had an accident in a similar section shortly before Verstappen.

Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez, who signed a new contract in Red Bull until 2022, finished sixth and tenth.

The Belgian Grand Prix will continue on Saturday with the third practice and qualification starting at 15:00 CEST. The race is also on the program on Sunday from 15:00.