Belgian Grand Prix – Free Practice 3: Hamilton first ahead of Ocon, Vettel last

The last free practice session of the weekend begins under a cloudy sky. Conditions are cool with 14°C in the air and barely 19°C on the track. It should be noted that the weather conditions forecasted for the race are increasingly tending towards rain.

The Haas cars are finally back on track after a catastrophic start, with failures having canceled the run of the American single-seaters. They monopolize the track during the first few minutes to finally gather data and kilometers.

After the first quarter-hour of the session, a light rain appears on part of the track but doesn’t seem to last.

After 25 minutes of testing with an almost empty track, most of the teams finally hit the track, mainly equipped with yellow tires.

The track, cold and little driven on, is extremely slippery and generates a lot of understeer.

The initial attack times are set almost two seconds off last year’s lap record established by Charles Leclerc at 1:42.519.

Bottas claims the provisional benchmark with a 1:43.813 ahead of his teammate and Perez. After his attack lap and despite some wheelspin at the last chicane, Verstappen comes close to Bottas by 83 thousandths, both equipped with soft reds.

Halfway through the session and the Ferraris are still struggling, with Vettel in 13th place and Leclerc in 18th, trailing 2.2 seconds behind the Finnish benchmark.

The driving is cautious, with conditions remaining cool, mixing light drizzles and fleeting rays of sunshine. The teams seem reluctant to drive on this cold track, thereby limiting the risks before a decisive qualifying session. Indeed, rain seems to be expected for the race, with its specific settings quite different from those for dry conditions. The start will be crucial.

10 minutes before the end of the session, the drivers return to the track for a few laps before qualifying, all on red tires.

All the protagonists are tailing each other to take advantage of the slipstream effect, which is crucial on this long circuit.

Provisional best time for Esteban Ocon, who goes ahead of Bottas by 3 tenths. Lewis Hamilton takes the best time with 1:43.255, 2 tenths ahead of the French driver. Norris places himself 3rd provisionally.

Ferraris continue to struggle, with Leclerc in 17th and Vettel at the very bottom, 2.5 seconds off the benchmark time. Understeer is omnipresent in the Italian cars, which seem more than ever in trouble.

Free Practice 3 Results of the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix: