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Formula 1
Belgian GP
F1 Belgian GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 & Qualifying
Minute-by-minute updates of Formula 1 Saturday practice and qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps
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"Dry lines are disappearing now slowly," reports Verstappen in a handy double act as weatherman.
Raikkonen hasn't emerged from the pits since reporting brake woe early on. Having done just three laps, that explains his 7.4s deficit to Verstappen.
Verstappen and Giovinazzi had gone out on track to join Ocon, but only the Alfa Romeo driver continues for a flying lap as the Red Bull man runs through the pits before doing a practice start.
The tell-tale sign of umbrellas being hoisted by fans tells you that it is now raining.
Ocon now has the track to himself. That's a fairly rare phenomenon at Spa, unless you make it through to the top 20 shootout for the 24 Hour race where each car goes one at a time, early-00's F1 style.
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As Tsunoda comes into the pits, we have only Latifi and Ocon currently out on track.
Ocon goes fifth fastest with that lap, a tidy effort at 1m58.913s slotting him just ahead of Stroll - who we've hardly mentioned so far this session.
Time was where Red Bull would never figure all that well at Spa with Renault engines that held them back. The team can't say the same now - in Honda's last year, the RB16B is top in all three sectors, impressively including the near flat-out blast up the hill to Les Combes that was always a Mercedes strong suit.
Ocon meanwhile is winding up for his first timed lap of the session.
Verstappen pits and has a set of mediums fitted... but is then wheeled back into the garage.
The Australian, celebrating his 200th GP this weekend, responds to a message from his engineer that rain is expected soon by shuffling up to P12.
Having been fourth in the early stages, Ricciardo has tumbled down to P17 on the leaderboard, but is still turning laps - suggesting he's been on a decent fuel load.
There is a clear dry line emerging in parts of the track. Who will be the first to blink?
Perez now goes second quickest, surpassing Hamilton's best but still over 0.9s down on Verstappen.
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We've only seen Ocon briefly emerge for one slow lap. He's the only driver yet to post a competive time.
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Verstappen underlines Norris's point about the track conditions improving as he pumps in a lap a full second faster than Hamilton's previous best to this point, a 1m56.924s putting him clear on top.
Asked by his engineer for an update on the track conditions, Norris reports that it's "drying everywhere now" but still pretty greasy. Given the length of the track, it may take some time before it's dry enough everywhere to consider slicks.
Perez now goes second, just 0.087s down on Hamilton. That's a good effort from the Mexican, as meanwhile Bottas flounders 1.8s off the pace in eighth.
Replays show Verstappen having a big old moment over the kerb at the first part of Les Combes. He catches the slide, but will now have made a mental note to stay off the yellow and red-striped weapons. Perhaps almost as deadly as the famous paddock stairs.
Hamilton had just gone purple in his first sector and was still fractionally ahead of his best lap so far despite going slower in the middle sector before pitting. The seven-time champion clearly has a quick car underneath him today.
With a freshly-extended contract in his pocket, Perez now goes third fastest in the second Red Bull. For reference, Verstappen is only P9 at the moment.
While Raikkonen's car is being worked on by the Alfa Romeo mechanics in the garage, Haas has sent its cars out on inters - having been the only team to err on the side of caution in opting for wets at the session start.
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Raikkonen sounds very weary over the radio after what might be his zillionth lap of Spa. "My brakes failed," he laments as he trundles down the pitlane.
... But Hamilton meanwhile goes fastest on a 1m57.996s. He's one of only two drivers under the 1m59s bracket, with Norris in second 0.5s back and Gasly 1.3s down in third.
Helmet cam shots from Alonso reveal just how much the drivers are having to fight the cars on the edge of the grip limits in these conditions. Well, that might be partly because an Alpine has less aero potential than a top car, but you can also hear the rear tyres scrabbling for grip as he exits the Bus Stop. That lap is enough to put him fourth...
Meanwhile, Gasly pumps in a new PB to go top on a 2m01.385s. Russell is second, Latifi third and Ricciardo fourth.
Hamilton reports over the radio that his brakes aren't working too well. Perhaps that's not a surprise in these chilly conditions.
After Leclerc went fastest, Russell has improved on his second lap to go fastest with a 2m01.699s. Bottas, his expected rival for the second Mercedes seat, meanwhile goes straight in at the end of the Kemmel Straight into the run-off at Les Combes.
Despite the theoretical extra grip afforded by his wets, Mazepin has a little moment locking up at Bruxelles and goes wide. Back in the day, that would have been a slam-dunk in the gravel but he gets away with it.
Russell is the first man to post a flyer, and it's a 2m05.546s. That's immediately bettered though by Latifi, who manages a 2m04.802s.
Russell setting up for his first flyer runs deep into the Bus Stop and has to use the escape road. Clearly a bit less grip there under braking than he'd anticipated.
Latifi, Sainz, Alonso, Leclerc (in his new chassis remember) and Raikkonen have all now headed out, each opting for inters.
Haas drivers Schumacher and Mazepin follow, both on wets - perhaps sensible to go with the conservative option here as there are no points on offer for being a hero in FP3, but a big penalty for getting it wrong.
First men out are Russell and Ocon, both on inters.
Lights green
And we're green for practice at Spa!
As we wait for cars to head out on track, shots of the fans shows plenty of people decked in orange. Either there's a sudden fashion trend sweeping Europe which we've not heard about (entirely plausible) or there's a lot of Max Verstappen fans in the house (probably the more likely explanation).
Just over four minutes until the session is green. What are you expecting to see from FP3?
Drivers are suiting up their garages ready for what promises to be a busy start to the session. The teams will want to make the most of any dry-ish running they can get.
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