Author: Barkha Roy
In a Friday practice session at the F1 Belgian Grand Prix, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz showed his skills, setting the pace ahead of the McLaren drivers. The challenging weather conditions at Spa-Francorchamps added an extra layer of complexity to the preparations for the next qualifying session.
Start racing or head to the pits? 👀
An unusual start to our #F1Sprint as the grid decided what to do after we started behind the Safety Car! #BelgianGP #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/GRUywiUDHz
– Formula 1 (@F1) July 29, 2023
With only one hour of practice available before qualifying under the revised Sprint format rules, the drivers were faced with a wet track due to heavy and continuous rain. As a result, most of them opted to test intermediate and fully wet tires to assess their performance on the treacherous surface.
After the first 10 minutes of the race, only six drivers had managed to set lap times, with Williams’ Alex Albon briefly leading the table. However, the rain intensified, causing all the drivers to seek shelter in the pits, waiting for the conditions to improve.
Seven minutes later, the session resumed with some drivers venturing back onto the track, led by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard showed his skill in the tricky conditions, setting a blistering pace on intermediate tires, leaving McLaren’s Oscar Piastri behind by more than half a second.
Pierre enjoyed that one and so did @AlpineF1Team! 👍#BelgianGP #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/cFn9ecopFl
– Formula 1 (@F1) July 29, 2023
Practice was momentarily interrupted when Logan Sargeant crashed his Williams into the barriers at Les Combes, reporting a loss of control. As the stewards sorted out the incident, the rain became even heavier, driving the riders off the track.
Fernando’s birthday came to an unhappy end on track 😖#BelgianGP #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/Y6vcEOzJPg
– Formula 1 (@F1) July 29, 2023
Carlos Sainz’s lap time of 2m 03.207s remained unchanged, giving him the fastest time of the session, with Piastri holding on to second place, 0.585s behind the Ferrari driver. Lando Norris, in the second McLaren, took third place, more than a second behind his teammate.
The Ferraris continued to impress, with Charles Leclerc taking fourth place, albeit almost five seconds behind Sainz’s time. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez managed to take fifth place, followed by Williams’ Alex Albon, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Kevin Magnussen, the main Haas driver.
A bold call to switch to slicks, but juuuust a few minutes too early for Stroll 😩 #BelgianGP #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/irUIH9eEpm
– Formula 1 (@F1) July 30, 2023
Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10 for AlphaTauri and Haas respectively. Meanwhile, championship leader Max Verstappen faced a setback as he was only able to do a single installation lap due to an impending five-place grid penalty for exceeding the gearbox allocation.
Qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix is scheduled for 5pm local time, with the FIA confirming that the current championship order, and not practice results, will determine the grid if qualifying conditions remain unfavorable.
Now, the drivers will head to the debriefing sessions, analyzing their performance and strategies as they prepare for the challenges ahead at the unpredictable Belgian Grand Prix.