Max Verstappen showcased his mastery during a rain-soaked final practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix, despite the challenging conditions that led to Lance Stroll crashing.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen reigned supreme in a heavily rain-affected FP3 session. The weather wreaked havoc, causing Lance Stroll to crash and forcing officials to suspend the session due to the heavy downpour.
As soon as the session started, Verstappen was ready at the pitlane. He quickly set the benchmark with a time of 2:03.232, which was significantly slower compared to the fastest time in FP2 on Friday.
Verstappen continued his dominance with a four-lap run on intermediate tires, lowering his own lead time to 2:03.565 within the first five minutes. This impressive performance saw him leading Oscar Piastri, Pierre Gasly, and Lando Norris.
Norris had a tricky moment at Turn 9, skidding through the gravel, which led McLaren to change the floor on his MCL38. Just as the rain intensified, Stroll’s misfortune struck. He lost control of his Aston Martin at Raidillon, spinning and smashing into barriers after aquaplaning. This mishap brought out the red flags.
After a nearly 10-minute delay, the session resumed. However, the rain persisted, and drivers chose to stay in the pits for the next 15 minutes. Race control stopped the session for a second time due to relentless rain.
The medical car assessed the track conditions shortly after the second red flag. Eventually, the session restarted with only two minutes left. A few drivers, including Carlos Sainz and Kevin Magnussen, ventured out on extreme wet tires but couldn’t start a flying lap in time. As a result, the earlier order remained unchanged.
Behind the top four of Verstappen, Piastri, Gasly, and Norris, Esteban Ocon led Charles Leclerc. Following them were Stroll, Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton, and Sergio Perez rounding out the top 10.
Despite the torrential rain and several interruptions, Verstappen’s performance solidified his dominance, setting a high bar for the upcoming race.
