Despite a crash from Stroll, there was little action for fans and viewers during the third free practice for the Belgian Grand Prix due to heavy rainfall. The drivers completed no more than five laps in this session. Verstappen, for what it’s worth, clocked the fastest time.
The final free practice in Spa-Francorchamps begins under wet conditions. Most drivers quickly leave the garage to make their first laps on the grey asphalt ribbon in the Ardennes. They know that it will rain even harder in a few minutes, so any data they can gather now is valuable. The qualification later today is also expected to be anything but dry.
All teams have fitted the intermediate tires purely because the full wets are not performing well. The lack of grip on these tires is quickly evident from a few off-track excursions by Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. After 12 minutes, it goes wrong and it’s a red flag. Lance Stroll crashes hard at the exit of Eau Rouge and hits the wall. The Canadian damages his Aston Martin to such an extent that he can no longer continue.
Code Red
With about forty minutes left on the clock, the track is reopened, but it remains eerily quiet on the circuit. The conditions have not improved, and the drivers are waiting out the storm in the pit box. In fact, it starts to rain even harder, and the race management once again declares a code red.
The only action at Spa that we subsequently see takes place on the nearby amateur go-kart track. One of the participants spins out, and the director even decides to show a replay of this. It seems to stay this way until the track is reopened in the final minutes. This way, the drivers still get the chance to make practice starts.
And so the hour is up, and Max Verstappen closes the session as the fastest, for what it’s worth. The qualification will be held at 7:00 AM UST, and under these conditions, it could become a real lottery.
