Max Verstappen tops wet final practice as Lance Stroll crashes at Eau Rouge
Max Verstappen tops wet final practice in Belgium, as Lance Stroll suffers big crash.
Max Verstappen set the pace in a truncated, rain-affected final practice at the F1 Belgian Grand Prix as Lance Stroll crashed.
The Red Bull driver finished 1.4s clear of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in the wet condiitons, with Pierre Gasly third-fastest for Alpine, some 1.6s off the pace.
Reigning world champion Verstappen faces a 10-place grid drop for Sunday’s race after exceeding his power unit allocation for the season.
Lap times were hardly representative, however, as drivers got an early feel for the conditions before the session was interupted by a heavy shunt for Stroll at Eau Rougue.
The Aston Martin driver lost the rear of his car in the middle of the corner, before spinning and hitting the inside wall.
Stroll’s car suffered signifiant damage to the front left corner but the Canadian was unharmed in the incident, which brought out the red flags.
The weather worsened under the red flag as heavier rain fell around Spa-Francorchamps. The session was only green for a brief spell before red flags flew once more as conditions detoriated further.
Lando Norris took fourth ahead of the second Alpine of Esteban Ocon and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Stroll had set the seventh-fastest time before his shunt, with Valtteri Bottas eighth for Sauber ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
RB’s Daniel Ricciardo returned to the garage after four laps having reported a problem with his steering wheel.
