Belgium – Free Practice 3: Räikkönen reigns as the master of the stopwatch at Spa
After a hesitant start to the session due to a track still wet in places, the Ferraris proved to be the fastest, ahead of the Mercedes and the Red Bulls. Holder of the record for victories for an active driver, Räikkönen showed his team that renewing his contract was legitimate as the Finn remains at the top of his form, setting a new track record by going under 1:44.
The rain from the end of the second session continued into the evening and night, leaving the track still partially wet in some areas for the start of this free practice 3 session.
The drivers take turns for their installation laps and, depending on their daring, some choose to fit slicks like Sebastian Vettel with super-soft tires, while many prefer the safer option of intermediate tires.
Delayed, Kvyat goes out for his installation lap ten minutes after the session starts. The Russian offers the only activity on the track for the moment, equipped with super-softs, he sets off to attack the clock. His teammate goes out in turn and the other Spaniard, Alonso, as well as Massa and Bottas.
The quest for the best begins now, Hamilton in his first attempt records a 1:45.480 and places 1.013 ahead of Valtteri Bottas, followed by Sainz and Kvyat over two seconds behind, Massa and Stroll are three seconds and 4 hundredths behind.
Räikkönen places second, 0.103 behind Lewis Hamilton, the Ferrari is faster in sector 2 but loses time in sectors 1 and 3. Vettel places third just before the Finn improves to take the provisional fastest time by 58 thousandths over Hamilton.
A quick look at the standings halfway through the session: Räikkönen leads Vettel, Hamilton, Ricciardo, and Verstappen in the top 5, followed by Bottas, Palmer, Alonso, Hülkenberg, and Sainz completing the top 10. Beyond that, we find Ocon, Pérez, Kvyat, Grosjean, Massa, Magnussen, Stroll, Wehrlein, Vandoorne, with Ericsson bringing up the rear.
The local driver Vandoorne does not seem to be aiming for a time record, as the Belgian completes laps of race simulation with times around 1:50. The yellow flag is waved in sectors 1 and 2, as Kvyat’s Toro Rosso is immobilized at the side of the track in the middle of the Kemmel climb. “I’ve lost power,” he announces on the radio. The session is cut short for the Russian driver; for safety reasons, the car is sprayed with a fire extinguisher as smoke is escaping from the engine cover.
“Box guys. The brakes are the same problem as yesterday,” says Grosjean. He adds that there’s “nothing I can do”. #F1
— Autosport Live (@autosportlive) 26 août 2017
The troubles seem to continue for the Frenchman, as Haas lacks performance on the Belgian track and seeking improvement appears quite complicated for the American team. Fortune is complete, however, for Kimi Räikkönen; out of nowhere, the Finn clocks a 1:43.916. He sets the new circuit record, which was previously held by Jarno Trulli.
The trend is strong at Ferrari, with Sebastian Vettel 0.197 behind his teammate, Lewis Hamilton follows closely behind at 0.198. Behind them, Verstappen is far off at more than a second behind. In the sector analysis, it appears that Räikkönen is two tenths faster in sector 2.
In the top 10, things change with 10 minutes left in the session, and a miracle solution seems to have been found at Haas as Grosjean leaps to 7th place and Magnussen to 10th. Lance Stroll also enters the top part of the standings by placing 8th.
The vast majority of the field is now outside for a final run. The top positions remain fixed, but things are changing behind the three leading teams.
The final ranking of the third session:
INITIAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF FP3): All set up nicely for a fascinating #Quali session… #BelgianGP 🇧🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/CE6jrR7bhK
— Formula 1 (@F1) 26 août 2017
From our special correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps
