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Max Verstappen’s weekend got off to the best possible start as he topped FP1 by over half a second from his rivals, quickest on both the initial harder tyre runs and on the softs. But he couldn’t get the beating of the McLaren duo in FP2 as the papaya cars nudged ahead – and with a grid penalty looming, the Dutchman knows there is work to do ahead of the weekend.
That grid penalty is for taking on a new ICE, his fifth of the year which will see him take a 10-place drop for Sunday’s Grand Prix. Verstappen took a five-place drop here last year and started sixth, still going on to win the race.
READ MORE: FP2 – Norris tops the second practice times ahead of Piastri and Verstappen in Belgium
But that sort of result is twice as difficult now, as he has both a bigger grid penalty to take and also some much faster rivals to deal with.
Verstappen now hasn’t won a race since Spain, three races ago, and should he fail to win here, he would see his championship advantage further eroded. With the pressure on however, the Dutchman didn’t sound too concerned after the practice sessions on Friday had concluded.
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