Belgium FP3: Verstappen Ahead, Stroll’s Crash as Rain Hits

After a dry opening day, a deluge greeted the drivers for the third practice session (FP3) of the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday noon. The conditions were a precursor to the qualifying session, provided the drivers could navigate the intense rainfall at Spa-Francorchamps.

Mercedes F1 announced that the new floor introduced yesterday would no longer be used for the remainder of the weekend following a disappointing day of testing. It appears that the new floor of the W15 contributed to the difficulties encountered.

Drivers took to the track and Max Verstappen improved his time twice, having been the first to set a lap. The Red Bull driver clocked a time of 2’01″565 before a heavy downpour hit the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

The drivers continued their laps to refine settings and gain a better understanding of their cars, as the qualifying session was also expected to take place in wet conditions, requiring mastery to achieve a competitive time.

The session was halted after just over ten minutes when Lance Stroll went off track at Raidillon. The Aston Martin driver lost control, veered left, and despite the new runoff area, collided with the wall at the top of the turn.

Stroll was unharmed, but the medical car was deployed to take him to the medical center as a precaution. The damage appeared to be confined to the left front half of the car, presenting a significant repair job for the team.

With 20 minutes remaining, the session resumed, but the track was soaked and a downpour was in full swing. Consequently, drivers remained in their garages until the rain eased slightly.

With 25 minutes left in the session, the rain intensified again, prompting the race direction to display the red flag. The medical car took to the track to assess the condition of the asphalt over the 7-kilometer Belgian circuit.

The session restarted with less than two minutes remaining for the drivers to conduct start tests, but there were no changes in the timings. Thus, Verstappen maintained the fastest time of the session, which turned out to be of limited utility for the drivers and teams and did not provide clarity on the pecking order for the spectators.

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Verstappen Leads Before the Deluge Verstappen Leads Before the Deluge