Kimi Antonelli believes the changes made by Mercedes between Friday's two practice sessions have set them up for success at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.

The drivers' championship leader topped the timesheets at the end of Friday's second session, finishing 0.190 seconds faster than Lando Norris and a huge 1.285secs ahead of team-mate George Russell.

Antonelli – who is 25 points clear of Russell at the top of the standings – placed sixth in the opening session, which was surprisingly topped by Max Verstappen.

Verstappen was third in the second, with Isak Hadjar fifth as Red Bull showed impressive consistency throughout the day.

Lewis Hamilton was fourth, with Oscar Piastri sixth in an FP2 session that saw a red flag due to a heavy crash from Alpine's Pierre Gasly, whose rear right wheel was torn off after he clipped the barrier.

On Saturday, Antonelli will look to seal his sixth pole position of the 2026 season, which would see him pass Giuseppe Farina (five) to go third-most for pole positions among all Italian drivers in F1 history.

"We made big changes with the car, and it was a lot better, so that's a good direction," Antonelli told Sky Sports at the end of the day's action.

"Of course, there's still a lot of work to do, as a team and as well with my driving, but it was a much better session, and I'm now looking forward to [qualifying].

"Silverstone was a great weekend, but we came out with no points, which obviously hurt a lot.

"This weekend is a different one, a new challenge, and the goal is to still maximise every session, every time I get in the car, and then maximise the result. Definitely, Friday had a good end, but now a lot of work ahead of [Saturday]." 

A five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits dropped Antonelli from ninth to 15th at the British Grand Prix last time out.

The teenager also failed to finish at last month's Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, but he has ended on the podium at every other race this season, winning five, finishing second once and placing third once.

However, after scoring 156 points across the opening six races of the season, Antonelli has managed just 23 since Barcelona. 

Seven drivers have scored more points over the last three Grands Prix: Russell (66), Hamilton (57), Norris (39), Verstappen (33), Charles Leclerc (33), Hadjar (26) and Piastri (24).