The Belgian weekend so far has confirmed the sensations we had in past events but the final test for everyone will come today, with FP3 and qualifying for the Belgian GP. A day that will see the arrival of rain on several occasions.
A Friday of intense work and difficult reading
On Friday at Spa we were able to observe the first part of an intense work: Red Bull took to the track with the old configuration of the bonnet with the return of the bazookas, using the Friday for comparative tests between wings of different loads. At Ferrari, despite a difficult Friday Charles Leclerc he was quite satisfied with the flying lap, while Sainz with the race pace. The SF-24 with the fuller wing performed well, certainly better than the Mercedes that arrived at Spa with a package of updates which, however, did not convince Hamilton and Toto Wolff. The Brackley team will therefore have to decide during FP3 whether to continue with this package for the rest of the weekend or whether to set it aside.
McLaren he closed the first two free practice sessions at Spa placing himself ahead of the group, demonstrating the good form of the MCL38 on a track diametrically opposite to the one where he achieved his first double of the season. With the absence of Verstappen, destined to serve a 10-place penalty for the ICE replacement, the Woking team can capitalize as much as possible. However, the opinions gathered by the two drivers at the end of the day were conflicting, with Lando Norris declaring that he was not comfortable with the car.
It will be a double challenge for Red Bull who on Friday night broke the first curfew allowed by the regulations to work on the RB20s of Verstappen and Perez. In fact, the Dutchman, in addition to having to respond to the performances of the two McLarens, will have to overcome the 10 penalty positions and to do so he will need a car that guarantees him effectiveness in overtaking and race pace. However, qualifying will also be important, to place as high as possible and avoid having to start outside the top 10.
FP3 in Belgium: the rain comes and it's an immediate red flag
The uncertain weather makes Spa even more suggestive. The rain that did not affect any of the two F1 free practice sessions yesterday appeared as expected this morning, affecting the last free practice session, FP3. All the drivers therefore get off with the intermediates for these 60 minutes of preparation for the qualifications which will start at 16:00 pm.
On the update side there is some news: Mercedes has decided today to give up the new bottom, returning to a more well-known specification also given the conditions and bouncing problems that Ferrari suffers from.
After 10 minutes of heavy rain and some gravel hiking between Norris and Tsunoda, the session is interrupted with a red flag caused by Lance Stroll, who ended up spinning in contact with the barriers. We know Spa, and we know how cruel and dangerous it can be, especially in these conditions, but fortunately for Stroll there were no consequences despite Stroll being on a fast stretch, between Eau Rouge and Raidillon.
It's raining too much in Spa, the session is interrupted again
Once the Aston Martin number 18 has been removed the session resumes, the clock ticks but the intensity of the rain increases forces the race direction to interrupt FP3 again with a new red flag this time, due to the impassable track conditions.
6 minutes from the end of FP3 of the Belgian GP there are those who start polishing their helmets in the hope of being able to get on the track. The rain gives a slight respite, decreasing in intensity and it is not a given that someone will launch into a short simulation to try to gain confidence even in these conditions, in anticipation of qualifying. Less than three minutes from the end the green light comes but there is little time to make a time. However, Sainz and Magnussen take to the track, two of the three drivers who have not completed even a lap, the two Racing Bulls, Bottas, Hulkenberg, Ocon, Zhou, while all the others remain in the pits. With the full wet tires Sainz makes a short excursion on the gravel, but manages to compensate by returning to the track. However this excursion costs the Spaniard time.
FP3 therefore ends without too many changes in a classification which, albeit with unrepresentative times, sees Max Verstappen in the lead with a time of 2:01.565 with 4 laps on the intermediates, followed by Oscar Piastri at +1.433 from the Dutchman's time, Pierre Gasly, Lando Norris and Esteban Ocon completing the top 5. Russell and Sainz remain without time. We shouldn't experience any rain during the race, although this is still uncertain for qualifying which will start at 16pm.
Here is the top 10 of the FP3 of the Belgian GP
P1 – Max Verstappen
P2 – Oscar Piastri
P3 – Pierre Gasly
P4 – Lando Norris
P5 – Esteban Ocon
P6 – Charles Leclerc
P7 – Lance Stroll
P8 – Valtteri Bottas
P9 – Lewis Hamilton
P10 – Sergio Perez
