Hungarian Grand Prix winner Piastri kicked up some gravel at Turn 7 (which would have cost him at least a couple of tenths of a second) to go quickest.
Verstappen couldn’t respond to beat him, crossing the line just 0.002s adrift, but the other McLaren of Norris kept it super smooth to go fastest with a 1m 42.260s lap, 0.215s quicker than anyone else.
Sergio Perez – who is under pressure after a poor run of form – continued to struggle to match team mate Verstappen in Belgium, the Mexican finishing FP2 a second off the pace of the Dutchman in ninth.
The Ferraris emerged as the third-best squad at this stage of the weekend, with Charles Leclerc fourth, 0.577s off the pace, and Carlos Sainz 0.25s further back in fifth.
George Russell was the leading Mercedes in sixth, one second off the pace, ahead of Haas-bound Esteban Ocon – who bounced back from missing most of FP1 with a suspected leak to finish a superb seventh for Alpine.
/paddock_insider_Austin_18102024.jpg?w=218&resize=218,150&ssl=1 "PADDOCK INSIDER: Why it’s all to play for in Austin as Lando Norris vs Max Verstappen takes centre stage")
