Verstappen tops washed-out and red flagged final practice at Spa
Max Verstappen was able to put five laps on the board to top Saturday’s final practice ahead of the afternoon’s Belgian Grand Prix qualifying.
The Red Bull driver edged McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, but times were irrelevant in the daunting conditions to which race control put an end after a prolonged red flag period that followed a minor crash by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll at the top of Raidillon.
The wet conditions were anything but a surprise after forecasts had called for rain to swamp the Belgian Ardennes on Saturday.
While the predictions were unsurprisingly spot on, it left teams and drivers facing a challenging day at Spa-Francorchamps.
With qualifying also expected to be wet, FP3 was earmarked as an important session in terms of preparing for the afternoon’s grid-defining exercise.
However, with race day predicted to be dry, everyone was facing a set-up dilemma whereby teams needed to choose between a low-drag configuration geared towards dry running or a higher downforce setting suitable for a wet track.
The conundrum encouraged everyone, starting with Verstappen, to put their head down early, relying on the Intermediate tyre. But twelve minutes in, the red flag was deployed following Stroll’s off.
The Canadian was lucky to escape the scary spin with just a damaged left front on his AMR24.
A ten-minute pause to evacuate the stricken car ensued, but when the track went green once again there were unsurprisingly no immediate takers given the increased intensity of the rain which led to questions about whether the track was driveable or not.
Race control was on the same page as F1’s competitors, as it redeployed an ominous weather-related red flag.
Unfortunately, the end result was a washed-out session. The track went green with two minutes left on the clock but the resumption was intended to allow everyone to conduct a wet practice start, an opportunity seized by only eight drivers.
The lack of running obviously frustrated fans and drivers alike, but for the latter it meant committing to a firm set-up choice prioritizing either qualifying or race day, which added another layer of intrigue to this weekend’s proceedings.
Qualifying, while expected to be wet, will hopefully see a more deserving outcome for those sitting in the grandstands, but also for the teams.
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