Verstappen tops wet F1 Belgium GP final practice as Stroll crashes out

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped the final practice session ahead of qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix as Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll crashed out at Radillion. 

Feature image credit: Red Bull Content Pool

The drivers had two sessions of dry running yesterday but today was different as the rain poured down on the Belgian Spa-Francorchamps circuit. 

Stroll brought the first red flag out of the session, early on, as he lost control on the run-up Radillion. Aquaplaning, on the intermediate tyres, looked to be the cause before he slammed into the barrier. 

Fortunately, he was okay. 

The rest of Free Practice 3 was heavily impacted by the wet weather as drivers spent the majority of the session in the garage. A handful of drivers tested the conditions at the end of the session when they were released back out onto the track for a couple of minutes. 

How FP3 finished…

Verstappen topped the session with a steady 2m 1.565s lap time over four laps which he completed in the soaking conditions. Due to the worsening conditions, as the session progressed, no one was within a second of Verstappen’s best time. 

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly set the second and third-fastest laps, 1.4s and 1.6s behind Verstappen. Piastri’s teammate and fifth-placed Lando Norris was the last driver to remain within two seconds of the session’s best time.

Despite the lack of laps completed, Esteban Ocon completed a strong session for Alpine as the departing Frenchman rounded out the top five. 

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Stroll, Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Sergio Perez (Red Bull) completed the top 10 in sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th respectively. 

Williams’ Alexander Albon was the fastest driver in the top 10 in 11th, 5.8s of Verstappen’s time. He was accompanied Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in 12th and 13th. 

The two RB drivers, Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top 15 in 14th and 15th. The former had problems at the beginning of the session with a suspected hydraulic issue. 

Kick Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu and Williams’ Logan Sargeant completed the timed order, as the last drivers to set representative lap times on the board, nine seconds off the pace.

Mercedes’ George Russell and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz were the only drivers who did not set a representative timed lap.

Read more Formula 1 here:

• Friday F1 Round-Up: Verstappen and Tsunoda hit with penalties as Famin leaves Alpine
• McLaren lead the way in F1 Belgian GP FP2
• Verstappen and Tsunoda set for F1 Belgian GP grid penalties
• Verstappen tops opening practice of F1 Belgian GP
• Sainz says ‘not really’ about Audi F1 opportunity
• Haas F1 snatch up Esteban Ocon for 2025 on multi-year deal

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.