The drivers were met with difficult conditions as they headed out on track for the one and only practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix, with rain and a very wet track. Carlos Sainz set the fastest time ahead of two McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Photo Credit: Scuderia Ferrari
Alex Albon was the first driver out on track in the intermediate tyres, the conditions rapidly deteriorated with a heavy downpour just as the session started, leaving the
Thai driver with little grip and locking up heavily into the final chicane, running deep into the escape road but safely returning to the track.
Daniel Ricciardo had a big oversteer moment as he went through Eau Rouge on his full wet tyres, proving the track conditions were not suitable for safe running.
A few drivers set some unrepresentative lap times early on, but as the rain continued to fall, all drivers returned to the garage as the session reached its 10-minute mark.
With 45 minutes remaining, Carlos Sainz was the first of a few drivers to return to circuit after the lull, with track conditions slightly improved – he was joined by Norris, Perez and Piastri, initially.
Pierre Gasly had a similar lock up to Albon at the final corner, as the Frenchman found the escape road on his intermediate tyres.
Double reigning world champion and current championship leader Max Verstappen joined the track for a brief out lap on the full wets. The Dutchman will face a 5-place grid penalty ahead of Sunday’s race after exceeding his permitted gearbox allocation for the season.
Whilst lap times varied wildly, the FIA confirmed ahead of the session that it wouldn’t set the grid for Sunday’s race even if qualifying cannot be run, with the priority being to “reschedule” other sessions in order to accommodate qualifying in that case.
“We can confirm that the teams have been informed that Free Practice will not be used to set the grid for either the Sprint or the Grand Prix this weekend,” said the FIA spokesperson. “This has been done to ensure that teams do not treat the first session of the weekend as a competitive session. While the situation regarding the weather is constantly evolving, the priority will be to run a qualifying session for the Grand Prix.
“Other sessions may be cancelled or rescheduled to facilitate this, and if it is impossible to run a qualifying then the grid will be set by championship order.”
Zhou Guanyu had the first major off of the session, locking up his tyres on the way to Beau Rivage.
Alex Albon had a lock up on the way to Les Combes, but his team-mate Logan Sargeant had a much bigger moment, locking up and going straight into the barriers on the exit, damaging the front wing, suspension and floor edges of his FW45.
He said he was “okay“. The session was immediately red flagged with just under 30 minutes remaining.
The order as the session stopped was: Sainz, Piastri, Norris, Leclerc, Perez, Albon, Tsunoda, Magnussen, Ricciardo and Hulkenberg. The top three set their laps on intermediates, with the rest except Valtteri Bottas down in 14th, on the wets.
With 12 minutes remaining of the session, the two Red Bulls of Perez and Verstappen
were the first cars that headed out on track on the intermediate tyres after the red flag.
Lance Stroll also went out on track, but was quickly called back into the pits, with his Aston Martin team reporting “very heavy” rain.
With the rest of the weekend under threat from the inclement conditions, the FIA’s stance to prioritize qualifying for the main race will prove vital in the next sessions.
Source: F1
