F1 Belgian GP Live Commentary and Updates – Qualifying
Saturday's action from the 14th round of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
F1 concludes its latest double-header at Spa before heading into its summer break, following a dramatic McLaren 1-2 in Hungary last weekend.
Max Verstappen put Red Bull on top in the opening session of the weekend, only for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to vault McLaren to a 1-2 in FP2.
Final practice starts at 11:30pm BST, followed by qualifying at 3pm BST.
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Joining them in the Q1 exit is Sargeant and Zhou. Out in Q1: 16. Hulkenberg, 17. Magnussen, 18. Tsunoda, 19. Sargeant, 20. Zhou.
The final laps are coming in, as the times constantly chop and change. But Hulkenberg, Magnussen and Tsunoda are out as they've taken the chequered flag.
The Zhou and Verstappen incident will be investigated by the stewards after qualifying. A reply shows Zhou getting in the Dutch driver's way, much to his angst.
Russell is safe as he leaps up to third place and it puts Tsunoda at risk. Meanwhile Piastri goes fastest with a 1m54.835s.
Zhou and Verstappen have been noted for an impeding incident at Turn 18, which is the entry to the chicane. It hasn't been picked up by the TV cameras yet.
Russell winds up his Mercedes for his final lap. He needs this to avoid a second consecutive Q1 exit.
Norris rockets up to fifth to ease the pressure on him with three minutes to go. Now Russell is the big name in trouble.
Stroll lifts himself up into the top 10 which puts Zhou in an uncomfortable spot. Then Magnussen does the same which sees Norris drop to the Q1 exit spots.
Verstappen goes fastest again with a 1m54.938s - just the six-tenths of a second between him and Piastri.
Magnussen, Albon, Hulkenberg, Sargeant and Stroll are in the Q1 drop zone with five minutes to go. With the track improving all the time, it could be a case of whoever starts their lap last gets the best shot.
Ricciardo propels himself up to second and the times are tumbling around him. Piastri then takes over at the top with a 1m55.549s.
Bottas and Hulkenberg improve which drops both RB drivers into the Q1 exit spots. A handful of drivers are pitting with just under nine minutes to go. Most are asking for fresh intermediate tyres as the track is chewing them up as it dries.
Norris launches himself up to fourth and that pushes Sargeant into the drop zone. Reports of rain have started to come in, so McLaren's radar is spot on so far.
All 20 drivers have set a lap time now and the bottom five is currently Hulkenberg, Norris, Zhou, Stroll and Bottas.
Hamilton, who complained of "no grip" on his out-lap, slots himself into third but some 1.462s off Verstappen. Only Piastri is within one second of the Dutch driver so far.
Verstappen takes over at the top with a 1m56.003s, which puts team-mate Perez into third. Then Leclerc takes third to push the Mexican another spot back.
Both Hulkenberg and then Piastri topple Norris, the Hungarian GP winner leading the way with a 1m57.411s.
All drivers are on intermediate tyres, as Norris provides the early marker of 1m58.894s. Let's see how that stacks up.
That also means Stroll has made it for the start of the session. Well done to everyone at Aston Martin for repairing that car in just over two hours. All 20 drivers are on track, and the first lap times are coming up.
McLaren's weather forecast says heavier rain is arriving eight minutes into Q1, which explains why we've got 15 early takers. We're only missing Verstappen and both Ferraris and Mercedes.
Norris leads the train at pitlane exit, followed by the two Haas drivers and then Piastri, who called Magnussen's exit "dangerous".
The grandstands and hillside along the Kemmel straight are packed out so this rain isn't putting off the fans one bit. And neither is it for the drivers, as a queue forms at pitlane exit with a minute to go until Q1.
It also means, dear reader, this session should come fast and furious. So we've had our pre-qualifying coffee to give us the boost to keep up. Sending our regards to Nespresso.
The track sweepers are out trying to get the surface in as good a conditions as possible for the start of Q1. Expect lots of early running in the first session as everyone gets a read on conditions before needing to nail those lap times to avoid an early exit.
At Aston Martin, the mechanics have been frantically working to repair Stroll's car in time for qualifying after his FP3 smash. His car has had to undergo a full power unit change as a precaution so it is a race against time for him to be able to take part in today's action.
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin F1 Team
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
The risk of rain is 80% so we are nailed on for the wet stuff in this session. And just as that gets announced, the timing screen confirms it is a wet track with low grip conditions. An accurate read.
Sadly there was no F2 sprint race in the break between F1 final practice and qualifying as the rain washed it away. Looking at conditions as they are right now, it'll be a wet and wild quali but this should run to schedule. But Spa gonna Spa.
Hello one and all once again! Spa is still very wet but the rain has started to relent, for now at least, so all being well coming up is qualifying at 3pm BST.
Well, there's not a lot to debrief from that session given the long red flag period, so we will take a break and return ready for qualifying.
Here's the session report to pass you over, but until then, it's goodbye!
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
These practice starts seem a little odd considering these conditions would likely lead to a safety car start.
But hey, F1 is full of surprises!
That's the end of the hour and, for what it's worth, Verstappen is fastest.
The eight drivers that came out for the end of the session continue around for their practice starts.
Sainz has gone through the gravel at Rivage. He recovers but that was a scare Ferrari didn't need.
It is very wet out there.
That comes with just under two minutes left so there's no time for fast laps to start.
Track clear, the session is resuming... that came from nowhere.
This is to allow for practice starts, just in case for the drivers.
Five minutes to go now and still the red lights are on.
It is still raining, though the intensity is far reduced compared to even 10 minutes ago.
Oh no...
A lot has been made about Red Bull's harmony this year and, after the Hungarian GP, especially between Verstappen and his colleagues.
But laughter from the championship leader, Helmet Marko, Christian Horner and others in the engineering cohort during the delay perhaps downplays such issues.
Thirteen minutes remain on the FP3 clock but it looks very unlikely any running will take place between now and the end of the hour.
By: Autosport Staff
