FP3 report: difficult rainy conditions for final practice at Spa

The final practice session for the 2024 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix at the 7.004-kilometre Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps was marred by heavy rain and two red flags, casting uncertainty over the upcoming qualifying session.

The first red flag came less than 12 minutes into the hour-long session at Spa-Francorchamps after Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll crashed at the top of Raidillon. Despite the fact that the FP3 session resumed eight minutes later, the intensity of the rain soon forced another red flag. With only two minutes left, the red flag was lifted, allowing drivers to complete just a few sighting laps and practice starts on Pirelli’s full-wet tires.

With more heavy rain expected throughout the afternoon, the prospects for qualifying are uncertain. In stark contrast to the dry conditions during Friday’s practice sessions, the predicted rain hit Spa-Francorchamps hard on qualifying day. A damp morning turned into heavy rain 20 minutes before the start of FP3, which intensified less than 10 minutes into the session.

Max Verstappen was the first driver on track with intermediates on his RB20. As he tried to get the tires up to temperature, the three-time F1 champion ran off the circuit at the slow Bruxelles right-hander. Oscar Piastri faced a similar issue at Les Fagnes soon after, but both he and Verstappen were on track early enough to set times when the conditions were at their best.

The Dutchman set an initial lap of 2:03.232s, followed by a 2:01.565s. Oscar Piastri initially posted a 2:04.946s before improving to 2:02.998s, trailing Verstappen by 1.433s. These remained the leading times. As the rain intensified, Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda and McLaren’s Lando Norris ran off track into the gravel before Stroll’s crash brought out the red flags with less than 12 minutes on the clock.

Ascending Eau Rouge, Lance Stroll experienced oversteer and, in the wet conditions, slid off at Raidillon. His car spun 360 degrees before hitting the barrier with the front left, breaking the suspension. Stroll was attended to by the medical car, and his damaged car was removed, allowing the session to resume at 12:50 local time. However, the remaining 19 drivers stayed in their garages as the rain intensified.

The pause allowed Red Bull to address an issue with Daniel Ricciardo’s car. The Australian had reported a feeling of “losing hydraulics” and “heavy steering”. Although the team found no issues in the data, Ricciardo insisted something felt off, and he was told to pit.

At 13:04, the FIA red-flagged the session again due to the treacherous conditions. Cars returned to the track at 13:28 to practice starts.

Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz, who had not completed a lap, was first out but skidded into the gravel on his initial attempt. Underlining how tricky the conditions were, especially on relatively cold tyres, the Ferrari SF-24 car slid off at Rivage and went through the gravel before rejoining. The seven drivers who opted to go out completed only out-and-in laps. Behind Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri on the timesheet were Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Norris, whose McLaren team had changed the floor of his car after his earlier gravel excursion.

#	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME
1	Max VERSTAPPEN	Red Bull	2:01.565
2	Oscar PIASTRI	McLaren	2:02.998
3	Pierre GASLY	Alpine	2:03.175
4	Lando NORRIS	McLaren	2:03.372
5	Esteban OCON	Alpine	2:05.250
6	Charles LECLERC	Ferrari	2:06.033
7	Lance STROLL	Aston Martin	2:06.037
8	Valtteri BOTTAS	Stake	2:06.492
9	Lewis HAMILTON	Mercedes	2:06.751
10	Sergio PÉREZ	Red Bull	2:07.103
11	Alexander ALBON	Williams	2:07.443
12	Nico HULKENBERG	Haas	2:08.040
13	Fernando ALONSO	Aston Martin	2:08.071
14	Daniel RICCIARDO	VCARB	2:08.410
15	Yuki TSUNODA	VCARB	2:09.444
16	Guanyu ZHOU	Stake	2:11.109
17	Logan SARGEANT	Williams	2:11.220
18	Kevin MAGNUSSEN	Haas	2:15.163
19	George RUSSELL	Mercedes
20	Carlos SAINZ	Ferrari