Thursday – Entry and Free Practice sessions
The FIA WEC returns to the "Ardennes Rollercoaster" for the 2026 TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. Serving once again as the critical dress rehearsal for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the paddock feels the tension of teams finalizing their aero kits and hybrid strategies. While the entry list remains largely stable from Imola, there are notable driver changes to account for. Louis Delétraz makes a high-profile Hypercar debut in the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota, stepping in for Alex Lynn, while the #38 sister car welcomes Jack Aitken. BMW M Team WRT returns to full strength with Dries Vanthoor and Sheldon van der Linde returning from their IMSA duties. Visually, the #79 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG is the standout, sporting a bespoke "flame" livery in red and black for their sponsor’s home event.
The track conditions for the opening sessions were optimal, with the Belgian spring offering dry asphalt and mild temperatures, though the ever-present threat of Ardennes rain loomed in the forecast. Following last year's trend of falling lap times due to the resurfacing, the 2026 field immediately pushed the pace. In Free Practice 1, Antonio Fuoco proved that the Ferrari 499P remains the car to beat at this venue, posting a 2:02.955 in the #50 factory entry. He was followed closely by Alex Riberas in the #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie, signaling that the Thor Team has found significant pace since the season opener.
The first session was not without drama, as a late red flag cut running short. However, the hierarchy began to settle with Ferrari, Aston Martin, and the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 occupying the top spots. The Alpine A424s and Peugeots followed, showing a tighter mid-pack spread than we saw at the same point last year.
Free Practice 2 saw the pace intensify further. The 2:01 barrier remains a formidable benchmark, but Jules Gounon managed to break through with a 2:01.816 in the #36 Alpine A424, leading a strong 1-2 for the French manufacturer as Charles Milesi followed in the #35 car. Sheldon van der Linde confirmed BMW’s potential by placing the #20 M Hybrid V8 third with a 2:02.179.
In the LMGT3 class, the Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R from Racing Team Turkey (TF Sport) dominated the early charts with Charlie Eastwood setting a 2:18.034. They were pursued by the #87 Akkodis ASP Lexus and the #92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche, maintaining the diversity of manufacturers at the front of the GT field. While the pace is high, the 2:15 range seen by previous GTE machinery remains out of reach for the current GT3 specification.
As we look toward tomorrow, the focus remains on whether the qualifying session will see the Hypercars find the consistency needed for the low 2:00s. There is also a keen interest in how the stewards will manage track limits at turns like Raidillon and Blanchimont, as consistent enforcement will be crucial to ensuring the grid is decided by pure performance.
Friday – Final Practice and the Legends Return
The final free practice session on Friday morning saw a shift in momentum as Cadillac surged to the front. Will Stevens put the #12 Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R at the top of the timesheets with a 2:02.379. He was closely shadowed by the private #83 AF Corse Ferrari of Robert Kubica, who finished a mere 0.023 seconds behind the leader. This narrow margin suggests a highly competitive qualifying session ahead. Aston Martin continued their strong form with Harry Tincknell securing the third-fastest time, while Toyota Gazoo Racing appeared to deliver a more measured performance, likely focusing on race simulations and long-run consistency rather than outright qualifying pace.
The session was fragmented by three Full Course Yellow interruptions, which prevented many teams from completing their final high-downforce evaluations. The most significant incident occurred toward the end of the hour when Richard Lietz in the #92 Manthey Porsche went off track at Turn 8, beaching the car in the gravel and triggering the final FCY that brought a premature end to the morning's data gathering.
Parallel to the modern WEC action, the "Legends of Le Mans" support category completed its two qualifying sessions. Following the opening session on Thursday, the 17-car field finalized the grid today. The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP prototypes proved to be the class of the field, with Kriton Lendoudis claiming the top spot with a top speed of 301 km/h, followed by Shaun Lynn. Other historic standouts included Michel Frey in the Lola B07/18 and the LMP2 contingent led by David Cheng. In contrast to the deep prototype field, the GTE category remains thin with only two entries—the Aston Martin Vantage AMR of Franz Wunderlich and the Lotus Evora GTE of Wolfgang Henseler—mirroring the small GT turnout seen at the season opener in Imola.
With all practice sessions now concluded, the focus turns to the afternoon’s qualifying and Hyperpole sessions. While track limits at corners like Raidillon and Blanchimont remain a major technical focus for the stewards, the primary narrative heading into the weekend is the exceptionally narrow performance gap between the top five manufacturers.