Belgian GP: Free Practice 3 – Webber Persists and Confirms

It’s under a gray and rainy sky once again that the third free practice session will begin. Mark Webber, who is celebrating his birthday – happy birthday Mark – has just extended his contract for next year and is already in his seat.

First driver to exit the pits: Jérôme D’Ambrosio. The Belgian is, of course, greeted by the public as he goes by. The track is very wet, and the Virgin driver has chosen to go out on intermediate tires. A specification that likely won’t be sufficient as conditions worsen in the Ardennes. This is confirmed by Sergio Pérez, who is also on the track. Behind them, Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel are also driving, with the former on wet tires and the latter on intermediates, but the layer of water on the asphalt is impressive. “[It’s] turn 12-13, there’s even more rain,” indicates the reigning world champion on the radio. Spanning 7 km, the Spa-Francorchamps circuit doesn’t see rain fall the same way everywhere. All the drivers who went out have returned. Lewis Hamilton is on track in his turn. The McLaren driver can’t even accelerate without risking a mistake; despite being on extreme wet tires. “It’s extremely wet,” Hamilton declares on the radio. Jenson Button, going slowly, and as a triathlon expert, states that one could “swim [there].”

As Pierre Van Vliet would say, whom we greet, it’s raining cats and dogs. Button, back to the pits, suggests that a red flag should be waved given the conditions and the state of the track. A small note for enthusiasts, the wet tires at the back evacuate more than 40 liters of water per second, which is four times more than good tires for road cars.

The sky seems to clear up somewhat and we can even glimpse a patch of blue sky. The track is still very wet, but it appears noticeably more usable from what can be seen during Daniel Ricciardo’s HRT installation lap. The first driver to start a flying lap is Jaime Alguersuari. However, the Toro Rosso driver is hindered by Sebastian Vettel. Buemi clocks in at 2:14.207 and Vettel at 2:15.082. Webber takes the lead with a 2:14.143. Things are heating up on the track, drivers are out, and Paul Di Resta is taking all the risks in the Raidillon. Alguersuari improves with a 2:13.357. The two Toro Rosso drivers exchange the lead, as Buemi tops the timesheets. Di Resta makes an error in Pouhon, but without any serious consequences. The Scotsman rejoins the track.

Sutil reminds everyone of his skills by setting the best time with 2:13.231. Intermediates are out in some pits. Schumacher is going to take a chance with these blue tires; it’s a daring gamble, but the German is always very comfortable in the rain. He sets the second-best time right on his first lap, just behind Di Resta, who took the lead with 2:12.955. Alguersuari puts two seconds on the Force India driver, but Buemi does better and reclaims the lead with 2:10.580.

After fifty minutes into this session, neither the McLarens nor the Ferraris have completed any timed laps. The conditions are greatly improving, and each lap is conducive to an improvement as Alguersuari moves back into first position. Button, on his first lap, takes second place. Webber ranks P1 with 2:08.988. Hamilton fails to improve by less than six hundredths. On the Ferrari side, Alonso has stayed quietly warm, and Massa only clocked the 23rd time. It is therefore Mark Webber who continues his series and wins this third free practice session.

The rain is falling again here in Spa, join us at 2 PM for the qualifications that you can follow in live text on MotorsInside.

Results of Free Practice 3 of the Belgian Grand Prix – Saturday, August 27 /f1/news/11144-follow-the-belgian-gp-qualifications-live.html: