Max Verstappen ended the third practice session at the sharp end of the leaderboard as teams navigated a wet and disrupted final session on track prior to this evenings qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. With overnight showers into the morning, teams arrived to a soggy race surface that meant only one thing – rain tires. Despite limited running, Verstappen managed a lap time 1.4s quicker than the McLaren of Oscar Piastri as Pierre Gasly slotted his Alpine in third position.
HIGHLIGHTS: Catch up on a wet FP3 in Belgium as Verstappen goes fastest and Stroll brings out red flags
Teams were eager to hit the track early before a large chunk of rain was due to strike the track withing 5-10 minutes of the session beginning, but as the skies opened up and puddles began to form, yellow flags soon flew. Lando Norris and Yuki Tsunoda were the first to be caught out as both drivers ran wide through the gravel at Les Combs. Moments later though, the red flags soon fell around the circuit as Lance Stroll lost control through Eau Rouge, snapping his Aston Martin into the run-off area and into the inside wall. The impact heavily damaged his car and he was out of the remainder of the session.
With Stroll’s damaged car cleared, the session resumed with roughly 40 minutes remaining, though no driver or team were eager to return to the circuit. Track conditions eventually worsened to the point that race control halted the session with a second red flag period that ran nearly the remainder of the scheduled time.
Race Control lifted the red flag with enough time for some practice starts on circuit, however no driver was able to compete with Verstappen’s benchmark time from the first runs held true and the Red Bull ended on top before we head to qualifying. Following Verstappen, Piastri, and Gasly, Lando Norris managed to set the forth quickest time ahead of Esteban Ocon. Charles LeClerc and Lance Stroll were sixth and seventh on the sheets, while former teammates Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton finished eighth and ninth ahead of the Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
As teams prepare for a soggy qualifying, it seems to still be anyone’s game for pole. Verstappen’s 10-place grid penalty certainly will come into play as the Dutch driver will look to secure the quickest time for pole, preventing him from starting any lower than 11th on the grid come Sunday.
Free Practice 1 Report – CLICK HERE
Free Practice 2 Report – CLICK HERE
FORMULA 1 ROLEX BELGIAN GRAND PRIX 2024 Schedule
Date | Session | Time (Local Circuit) |
July 26th | Practice 1 | 13:30 – 14:30 |
Practice 2 | 17:00 – 18:00 | |
July 27th | Practice 3 | 12:30 – 13:30 |
Qualifying | 16:00 – 17:00 | |
July 28st | Race | 15:00 |
Free Practice 3 Results
POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | TIME | GAP | LAPS |
1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 2:01.565 | 4 | |
2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 2:02.998 | 1.433s | 4 |
3 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 2:03.175 | 1.610s | 5 |
4 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 2:03.372 | 1.807s | 4 |
5 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 2:05.250 | 3.685s | 7 |
6 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 2:06.033 | 4.468s | 4 |
7 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 2:06.037 | 4.472s | 4 |
8 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 2:06.492 | 4.927s | 7 |
9 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 2:06.751 | 5.186s | 3 |
10 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 2:07.103 | 5.538s | 3 |
11 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 2:07.443 | 5.878s | 3 |
12 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | 2:08.040 | 6.475s | 5 |
13 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 2:08.071 | 6.506s | 4 |
14 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB Honda RBPT | 2:08.410 | 6.845s | 5 |
15 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT | 2:09.444 | 7.879s | 7 |
16 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 2:11.109 | 9.544s | 7 |
17 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams Mercedes | 2:11.220 | 9.655s | 3 |
18 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 2 | ||
19 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 2 | ||
20 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 2 |