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Yuki Tsunoda is set to help Daniel Ricciardo in qualifying after it was confirmed that the Japanese driver would take a grid penalty at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix that will see him start at the back of the grid.

Visa Cash App RB haven’t quite been top of the midfield this weekend – both drivers have been very promising in both Sector One and Sector Three, but their times have been compromised by RB being the worst performing car in Sector Two. Tsunoda hasn’t been particularly quick this weekend so far, and was six tenths behind Ricciardo in Free Practice One and over four tenths behind the Australian in Free Practice Two.

Tsunoda is hoping for rain on Saturday in qualifying, but has admitted whatever happens, he’ll be trying to help Ricciardo try and get into a good position for the race on Sunday with the team concentrating on staying in sixth in the Constructors Championship.

Speaking to Will Buxton (quotes via PlanetF1) Tsunoda said: “Normally we perform well in the rain. For now, I prefer rain, but any condition, I’ll just focus on what I can help for Daniel — slipstreaming or whatever.”

Tsunoda also revealed he had some issues with his VCARB01, which might be the reason for the deficit to Ricciardo in both Free Practice sessions. Luckily the team will be able to find the issue in the final hour of practice on Saturday morning.

Max Verstappen says that Oracle Red Bull Racing will focus on the race rather than qualifying at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix.

Verstappen had a dream start to his weekend, dominating Free Practice One by over half a second and setting the pace on both tyre compounds – softs and the hards. However, the tide turned in the second practice session of the day as McLaren F1 Team found pace and pushed the Dutchman down to third. With a ten-place grid penalty looming on race day for taking his fifth Internal Combustion Engine of the season, Verstappen faces an uphill battle to convert strong pace into a race win or podium, despite having overcome a similar penalty to win here previously.

The pressure is on Verstappen – he hasn’t won since Spain. The three-time world champion’s lead in the Drivers Championship has been cut down by Lando Norris in the last few races and the grid penalty could see his lead cut even shorter this weekend.

Verstappen said: “We tried quite a few things because it’s typically Spa where you have sector one and sector three where you want the top speed but it’s still a very long middle sector where you want cornering speed and it’s still very tricky to find the right balance,” he said afterwards.

“So, we are trying a few things to see what is better and we’ll look at it of course now in the data and analyse. We started out quite positive today, second practice was perhaps not quite as good. 

Today's team representatives press conference with Bruno Famin, Laurent Mekies, Frederic Vasseur and Alessandro Alunni Bravi.

A tough day on our side.

We concentrated on understanding tyre performance, and with half the circuit newly resurfaced, there was a lot to learn.

Lewis Hamilton is hoping for a wet qualifying at Spa Francorchamps as he believes the W15 performs better in difficult conditions.

Hamilton wasn’t too pleased after Free Practice One and Free Practice Two with how the car was performing. The seven time world champion was fifth in the first hour of practice, tenth in the second and also found himself behind his teammate, George Russell, in both sessions.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team have been looking much improved lately, winning two of the last three races at Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring, but their pace at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix so far isn’t looking likely to challenge Oracle Red Bull Racing and McLaren F1 Team.

Speaking to F1TV, Hamilton said: “It’s a pretty bad day, I don’t really know what to say! It’s been feeling great in the past couple of races, it just felt completely different today. 

“We worked on it , the first session was not great but then in the second session, it started off great but when we got onto the soft tyre it just didn’t improve. There was a bunch of balance issues we had through the lap but it was better in FP2 but everyone else just went better. To be 1.2 seconds behind isn’t great.”

Compared to what we saw over the previous two years with this new generation of cars, the C2 seemed to be pretty competitive and could be a valid choice for the race.

This year we found a very different track compared to previous years due to the new asphalt.

We are losing time across the full speed range, rather than in specific corners, and the long run isn't where we need it to be either.

It's been a productive Friday, we just need to decide the correct set-up for the compromise between a potentially wet qualifying and a dry race.

We have a lot of data to run through, some comparisons to make to the other car and we go again tomorrow ready for a busy day on track.

Today has been a productive day of learning - this track never disappoints.

Naturally, you always want a good qualifying, but the race is our focus.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri set the pace in Free Practice Two for the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix, ahead of Max Verstappen, who dominated the first session earlier in the day.

The drivers got onto track for a second hour of running at Circuit de Spa Francochamps and the weekend is set to get even better with rain expected on Saturday and Championship leader Verstappen set to take a 10-place grid penalty, potentially giving Norris and McLaren F1 Team the chance to move closer to Verstappen in both Championships. 

Norris, Piastri and Verstappen rounded out the top three and it was Scuderia Ferrari that looked like the third quickest team, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. rounding out the top five. George Russell was the lead Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team driver in sixth, ahead of Esteban Ocon, who recently announced he’ll be driving for MoneyGram Haas F1 Team in 2025 after his departure BWT Alpine F1 Team at the end of 2024.

Kevin Magnussen, who is without a race seat in 2025 as it stands, popped up in eight for Haas, ahead of Sergio Pérez. The Mexican has almost a second off Verstappen in Free Practice One and it was the same story in the second practice session on a weekend where he needs to perform or he may potentially be replaced in the second half of the 2024 season.

Lewis Hamilton was the last driver inside the top ten, ahead of Lance Stroll, who was just +0.006s quicker than his teammate, Fernando Alonso.

Alex was fairly happy straight away with the car and has a few areas he wants to improve for tomorrow.

Nani Roma will get a swan song in the Ford Ranger T1+ before taking over the Ford Raptor T1+ for good starting in August. Due to an injury sustained by his friend Daniel Alonso, Roma was a last-second addition to the Baja España Aragón that began Friday.

Roma helped test the Ford Ranger in 2023, then a collaboration between M-Sport and Neil Woolridge Motorsport that had been in the works since 2022. The car then made its competition début at that year’s Baja Aragón with Roma and Gareth Woolridge, the former finishing ninth, followed by a third at the World Rally-Raid Championship’s Rallye du Maroc. At the Dakar Rally in January, Roma scored a best stage finish of ninth in Stage #11 but was at the bottom of the overall due to mechanical failures.

M-Sport and NWM ended their relationship afterwards as the former, whom Roma and Ford Performance are tied to, focused on developing the Raptor. NWM elected to continue with the Ranger, building an upgraded model for competition in the South African Rally-Raid Championship with Past-Racing as a global partner.

Unveiled in mid-July at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Raptor’s first race will be the Hungarian Baja on 8–11 August. As he’ll have to wait a fortnight until then, Roma was asked by Alonso and Past-Racing to fill in at Aragón. M-Sport gave their blessngs, allowing him and co-driver Alex Haro to return to their old confines.

“Daniel Alonso called me and asked me if I was willing to do the Baja, as he is not fully recovered from the injury he suffered a few days ago,” Roma explained. “The objective is to continue to develop the Ranger T1+, which I know very well as it is identical to the one I drove until the last Dakar. Matthew Wilson (M-Sport boss) authorised me to drive, and here we are. It will be a good preparation for both Alex and me ahead of the Hungarian Baja in two weeks’ time, where we will be using the Raptor T1+ for the first time.”

Michel Hardy, who was on hand for the first ever Dakar Rally in 1979, died on 10 July at the age of 68.

At the inaugural Paris–Dakar Rally, Hardy was the mechanic on the #137 Range Rover V8 piloted by Patrick Barbier with Jean-Louis Dieude as co-driver. However, they failed to reach the finish.

He did not compete at the race again until 1986, when he teamed up with Alain Piatek and Serge Samson to drive the #636 Tatra 815; it was imported in 1985, initially with a 300-horsepower V10 engine that was upgraded to a 550-hp V12 capable of 170 kilometres per hour. Although it was rapid assistance truck, the entry marked the first time a Tatra appeared at the Dakar as the Czech manufacturer began sale to foreign customers. Hardy continued in the role through the decade, working with competitors like a Bosset and Ragot.

Piatek wrote on social media Friday, “Michel Hardy, companion on Tatra and first Dakar, has gone ahead on his last journey…”

His service took place on 16 July in Vence.

Lando Norris sets the pace in second practice as threat of rain for both of Saturday's sessions leaves teams facing a strategic nightmare.

Times from today's second free practice session for the Rolex Belgian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda will both take grid penalties for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.