Source – Racingnews365
Max Verstappen of Red Bull finished the third and final practice session on top of the time sheets on Saturday despite running being hindered by the continuous rain and an incident involving Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll that raised the red flags.
After a largely dry first day at Spa-Francorchamps, overnight showers and morning rain transformed the track into a soaked surface as final practice began at 12:30 local time. Drivers initially ran on intermediate and wet tyres, anticipating heavier rain within the first ten minutes, as forecasted by Daniel Ricciardo’s race engineer. This early anticipation saw many cars hit the track promptly, with lap times varying between 2 minutes and 2 minutes 30 seconds.
As predicted, the rain intensified, turning the track into a challenging environment. TV replays highlighted the difficulty, with Lando Norris and Yuki Tsunoda both running wide and skidding through the gravel at the Les Combes section. The session took a dramatic turn when Lance Stroll lost control of his Aston Martin through Eau Rouge, veered into the run-off area, and collided heavily with the inside wall. This incident caused significant damage to his car and brought out the red flags, halting the session.
Once Stroll’s car was cleared and he was taken to the Medical Centre for precautionary checks, the session resumed with about 40 minutes remaining. Verstappen’s early lap time of 2m 01.565s remained the benchmark. However, with the rain continuing to fall and the track getting wetter, drivers were hesitant to return to the track immediately, preferring to stay in the pits.
Another red flag was waved with 25 minutes remaining due to worsening track conditions, adding another twist to the session. The action eventually resumed with only a couple of minutes left on the clock, allowing drivers to perform practice starts in the slippery conditions. Verstappen’s time remained unchallenged, nearly 20 seconds slower than Friday’s fastest lap in dry conditions.
Oscar Piastri finished 1.4 seconds behind Verstappen in second place, while the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon sandwiched Norris’s McLaren. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounded out the top six, with Stroll’s earlier accident sidelining him for the remainder of the session.
Valtteri Bottas secured eighth place in his Alfa Romeo, followed by Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes and Sergio Perez’s Red Bull. The Williams of Alex Albon, the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg, and Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin occupied positions 11 to 13, respectively. Ricciardo and Tsunoda, both driving for AlphaTauri, finished 14th and 15th, while Zhou Guanyu in his Alfa Romeo and Logan Sargeant in his Williams were the last to post lap times.
The session left George Russell in his Mercedes, Kevin Magnussen in his Haas, and Carlos Sainz in his Ferrari without times, placing them at the back of the pack.
As the teams debrief in the paddock and make final adjustments, they prepare for a qualifying session later in the afternoon that is expected to feature more rain. The grid-deciding session is scheduled to begin at 16:00 local time, adding another layer of unpredictability to the weekend’s events at Spa-Francorchamps.
