Free Practice 3: Unexpected results with Heidfeld, Trulli, Sutil, and Grosjean 4th

This final practice session of the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix was full of surprises, as lap after lap, several drivers took turns at the top of the timesheet. After an hour, the outcome is as follows: Nick Heidfeld for BMW is the fastest ahead of Jarno Trulli (Toyota) and Adrian Sutil with the Indian team Force India. Romain Grosjean for Renault continues his rise by being fourth. The major leaders and former world champions are far behind.

Nick Heidfeld surprised everyone by setting a very good time on the legendary Spa-Francorchamps track. The BMW driver completed a lap in 1:45.388, not wanting to leave the glory to Force India driver Adrian Sutil, who led a good part of the session just a week after the Valencia tests where he had already impressed.

Sutil set the tone for the final third of the session and finishes in third place after Jarno Trulli slipped into second on his last lap. Romain Grosjean is once again well ahead of his Renault teammate, Fernando Alonso. The Frenchman secures an impressive fourth place while the 2005 and 2006 champion is only 17th!

His last time was 1:45.878, but on his next lap, the former GP2 driver was lucky to avoid going off track on the kerbs at Fagnes while on option tires. Timo Glock is still well placed in the top 10 for the Toyota team, being fifth today ahead of Robert Kubica (BMW), Nico Rosberg (Williams), and Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India). The Italian was forced to use another front wing for a large part of the session after hitting a small animal on his installation lap.

Lewis Hamilton for McLaren and Jenson Button, the current championship leader for Brawn GP, complete the top ten. Kimi Räikkönen finishes 11th after going off track at Rivage early in the session. This cost him some time as it was necessary to repair the Ferrari chassis, while his teammate Luca Badoer is still very far behind…

The replacement for Felipe Massa is 18th and beats a rival for the first time this weekend. He is still 1.6 seconds off the leading pace. Behind him, there is Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) and notably Mark Webber last, who did not complete a timed lap. The situation is becoming serious after yesterday’s more than mediocre day.

In the middle of the standings, the Toro Rosso drivers, after being very well positioned, plunge into the depths with only the 12th and 15th fastest times. Sébastien Buemi is ahead of Jaime Alguersuari. Between them, Heikki Kovalainen and Sebastian Vettel wedge in. The Red Bulls are therefore not at their best this morning in the chilly Ardennes. Rubens Barrichello achieves a mediocre 16th place.

Free Practice 3 Results – Belgian Grand Prix – Saturday, August 29, 2009: