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Formula 1 Belgian GP

F1 Belgian GP Live Updates - final practice and qualifying

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Out in Q1: P16 Raikkonen, P17 Grosjean, P18 Giovinazzi, P19 Latifi and P20 Magnussen.
TV replays catch Magnussen getting wide and sliding off the track and across the gravel. That ends his hopes of making it out of Q1 and effectively saves Leclerc - meaning both Ferrari drivers make it into Q2, but only just.
A flurry of late improvements sees Vettel jump up to P12 which pushes Ferrari team-mate Leclerc into the danger zone in P15!
Chequered flag for Q1 is out - as Leclerc lifts himself up to P12 for the time being.
Look forward to more of this happening at Monza next week, but for now Leclerc is at the head of the first train of cars so he won't have a slipstream for his final Q1 lap.
Final runs of Q1 coming up and there is a fight for track position developing during the out-lap.
Current drivers in Q1 drop zone: Latifi, Magnussen, Raikkonen, Vettel and Grosjean.
Verstappen has continued for a second timed effort on this set of soft tyres and puts himself up to P3 with a 1m43.197s which should be enough to put him safely into Q2.
Ferrari watch: After the first runs in Q1 Leclerc is P14 and Vettel is in P19. The German driver needs to find at least three-tenths of a second to pull himself out of the drop zone in this session.
Here come Mercedes - Hamilton goes fastest with a 1m42.323s with Bottas slotting into P2 with a 1m42.534s. That puts the pair almost a full second ahead of Ricciardo who is currently P3.
But McLaren's Sainz displaces Verstappen with a 1m43.322s. Plenty of lap times being logged now.
Verstappen heads the bulk of the F1 runners meaning he has a clear track to put in a 1m43.408s to go fastest.
Grosjean duly goes fastest by three-tenths of a second with a 1m45.073s as the rest of the F1 pack heads out on to the track.
Grosjean benefits from the slipstream following his Haas team-mate Magnussen on the Kemmel Straight, which means the French driver might have to repay the favour during the second run later in Q1.
Haas duo Magnussen and Grosjean head out straight away. It has been a tricky weekend so far for the US team having missed the bulk of Friday practice due to engine changes.
Q1 gets underway in under five minutes, which will decide the final five places on the starting grid. Going on practice pace, there is a very real chance that could include a Ferrari driver.
The Mercedes drivers have claimed every pole position between them so far in the 2020 F1 season and, for the record, the current score is Hamilton 4 Bottas 2.
Any event at Spa means extra attention is given to the weather, and heading into qualifying there is a 40% chance of rain. Air temperature is 16oC and track temperature is 24oC which is significantly cooler than the last two rounds - good news for Mercedes given their recent worries in hot conditions.
As things stand, none of the F1 drivers go into qualifying with a grid drop penalty set to dampen their day. Perez has been given a warning for impeding in FP3 but nothing to be too worried about.
The fight for pole position is more likely to be a Mercedes shootout given their power advantage in qualifying trim, but the pace from practice shows both Red Bull drivers Verstappen and Albon and Renault duo Ocon and Ricciardo will be looking to get into the mix at the sharp end.
The main talking point over lunch has been what is going on down at Ferrari. Its pace drop was well known coming into this weekend but very few predicted it would be this bad. A reminder that in FP3 Leclerc finished the session in 17th place with team-mate Vettel in last place. Painful reading for Ferrari.
Good afternoon! The drivers and teams have been fed and watered in preparation for qualifying which gets underway in a little under 30 minutes.
That's all for now. Make sure to join us at 2pm UK-time for Q1. Enjoy your lunch!
In case you were wondering when the last time was a Ferrari qualified last for the Belgian GP, you don't have to go back too far - to 2009 and poor old Luca Badoer, about as suitable a replacement for the injured Felipe Massa as Jermain Jenas being asked to stand in for the 6 o'clock news.
Further back - much further in fact - Magnussen and Grosjean are the quickest Ferrari-powered cars in P14-15, ahead of Raikkonen and Leclerc in the works Ferrari. How much of that is down to trimming off too much downforce, traffic at the Bus Stop or poor straight-line speed we'll find out when Q1 gets underway in a little under two hours' time.
It was an encouraging session too for Albon, who turns the tables on Verstappen to go fourth quickest. A much-needed confidence for the Thai driver.
Amid all that, it was business as usual for Lewis Hamilton at the head of the field with his late 1m43.255 putting him two tenths up on Esteban Ocon, who last year would be about to jump into the Mercedes simulator to run through some last-minute set-up permutations for qualifying. Ricciardo was P7 in the second Renault, the Enstone team enjoying a fruitful day so far - but will it continue for qualifying?

By: Jake Boxall-Legge

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