Verstappen ultimately produced a best lap of 1m47.070s on the soft tyres, finishing 0.145s ahead of Hamilton's Ferrari. Hadjar quickly responded with a 1m47.322s to restore Red Bull to the top of the order, but Verstappen's qualifying simulation proved decisive. Hadjar maintained fourth place, just 0.252s off Verstappen, giving Red Bull two cars inside the top four and providing further evidence that the RB22 has arrived at Spa with strong pace. Lance Stroll could manage only 21st, more than 5.7 seconds slower than Verstappen, while reserve driver Jak Crawford made his Formula 1 practice debut and finished 22nd after completing 22 laps. Although only the opening session of the weekend, Red Bull appears to have arrived at Spa with a competitive package, particularly over a single lap.