Max Verstappen topped a rain-hit final practice at the Belgian Grand Prix as Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll had a big crash in the treacherous conditions.
There was little more than 10 minutes of running at Spa-Francorchamps before Stroll lost control of his Aston Martin in the worsening conditions and shunted into the barrier at Eau Rouge.
Verstappen’s time of 2:01.565, almost 20 seconds slower than Friday’s quickest lap in dry conditions, put the Red Bull driver 1.4s clear of Oscar Piastri in second, with the Australian’s McLaren team-mate Lando Norris in fourth.
Norris needed the floor of his car changed after bumping over the gravel just moments before Stroll’s crash.
The dry running on Friday suggested another battle between Verstappen and the McLarens was likely, but the Dutchman is facing a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race having exceeded his engine allowance for the season.
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David Croft and Karun Chandhok were at the SkyPad to look back on Friday’s practice sessions at the Belgian Grand Prix
Verstappen holds a 76-point lead over Norris at the top of the drivers’ standings, while McLaren are looking to continue to reduce Red Bull’s 51-point advantage in the Constructors’ Championship.
The expectation of further rain throughout Saturday sets up the prospect a hugely unpredictable qualifying, but patience may also be required if the weather is bad enough to cause further stoppages.
Little could be read into the Practice Three timesheet given the limited running, with conditions gradually deteriorating over the short period for which cars were on track.
The session was red flagged for nine minutes after Stroll’s shunt, by which point the rain had increased to a level that deterred drivers from returning to the track.
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Christian Horner defended Max Verstappen’s recent radio rants saying that he’s a ‘passionate racer’ and the team have moved on from the incident
The option to do so was taken away from them with 25 minutes of the session remaining as the race director adjudged the track to be unsafe for running.
Cars were allowed to return to track for the final two minutes of the session as the rain eased, but that wasn’t enough time for any further lap times to be set.
The risk of returning to the track at the stage was highlighted by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz coming perilously close to hitting a barrier as he ran into the gravel.
Lewis Hamilton had said on Thursday that rain could bring Mercedes into contention at the front, but the Silver Arrows were slow to go out on track at the start of the session and missed the opportunity to set lap times in the best conditions.
Hamilton was ninth, five seconds back from Verstappen, while his team-mate George Russell didn’t set a time.
Sky Sports F1’s live Belgian GP schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments throughout the years at the Belgian Grand Prix
Saturday July 27
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Belgian GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: Belgian GP Qualifying
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday July 28
7:25am: F3 Feature Race
8.55am: F2 Feature Race
10.40am: Porsche Supercup
12:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday – Belgian GP build-up*
2pm: The BELGIAN GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Chequered Flag: Belgian GP reaction
5pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
The Formula 1 action continues this weekend with the final race before F1’s summer break, the Belgian Grand Prix. You can watch every session from Spa-Francorchamps live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime