SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS: Heavy rain reduced Saturday’s third and final free practice for the Belgian Grand Prix to a washout of only a handful of laps after Lance Stroll crashed in his Aston Martin at the high-speed Raidillon corner. Stroll was unhurt and passed fit to continue after a check at the circuit medical centre but his accident, when he slewed off and spun into the barriers, was a clear reminder of the dangers at one of the fastest circuits on the calendar.

Raidillon, an uphill curve that follows the infamous Eau Rouge corner, was the scene of fatal accidents that claimed the lives of Belgian Adrien Nicolas, in a Biker’s Cup eight-hours race in 2008, and Frenchmen Sebastien Clouzeau, in a Classic F3 race in 2013, and Anthoine Hubert in a Formula Two race in 2019. Dutch racer Dilano van‘t Hoff also died at the circuit, on the Kemmel Straight, in a regional formula race, on July 1, 2023.

The session was red-flagged twice, once for Stroll’s crash, and later when intensive rain rendered the track as unsafe, but the hour ended with two minutes of action before the chequered flag. After Friday’s relatively balmy conditions, heavy rain welcomed the teams on Saturday as Verstappen was first out for FP3, the Dutchman wanting to evaluate his car after Red Bull had broken the overnight curfew regulations to improve performance.

Each team is permitted two exceptions to the rules during a season, Red Bull choosing to do so at the majestic Ardennes circuit with its capricious microclimates. Mercedes had also been busy and removed their new floor after struggling with it on Friday. Verstappen, facing a 10-place grid penalty for taking a new engine, had also held clear-the-air meetings with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, technical director Pierre Wache and team boss Christian Horner following his swearing outbursts at last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix. Yuki Tsunoda of RB was also handed a grid penalty – of effectively 60 places – after changing a wide range of power unit components including the engine, for a fifth time, and turbocharger.

Stroll loses control

On track, the early runners struggled for grip in the wet conditions as Verstappen and Piastri ran wide at Pouhon, and Tsunoda and Norris at Malmedy before red flags signalled that Stroll had lost control and hit the barriers at Raidillon. The Canadian, whose mother is Belgian, was unhurt but it was a high-speed accident and severely damaged the left front wheel and suspension of his Aston Martin on one of the fastest sections of the circuit.

After six minutes, the lights went green, but nobody went out in the heavy rain, knowing that conditions could be very different for qualifying and for Sunday’s race, when it is expected to be dry and warm. For the teams, that required compromising on Saturday set-up to avoid starting on Sunday in an unsuitable race trim. As the rain intensified, the race director ordered another red flag and sent the official medical car out to check the circuit conditions with spectators huddling under trees in anoraks, ponchos and umbrellas. McLaren took the opportunity to change the floor on Lando Norris’s car following his excursion through the gravel at Malmedy.

As the rain eased, with two minutes remaining, a green light returned to re-start the action. Carlos Sainz led the way for Ferrari and was soon off, running through the gravel, before the session was ended without any meaningful laps clocked. Verstappen topped the times in two minutes and 1.565sec, 1.433sec ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Pierre Gasly with Norris fourth and Esteban Ocon fifth for Alpine. Verstappen completed only four laps in the early stages and neither George Russell of Mercedes nor Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz clocked a lap time. — AFP