Belgium – Free Practice 3: Bottas Dances in the Spa Rain

The rain made its appearance in Spa this morning. The track will be wet to start the final practice session of the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix.

The session is underway! Jules Bianchi is the first to take to the track; he is quickly followed by most of the drivers who complete their installation lap while assessing the track and its grip. The racing line already seems to be forming after a few moments, with intermediate tires appearing to be the right choice. Sebastian Vettel, on the radio, describes the conditions in each corner of the circuit, specifying whether the entry, apex, or exit are dry or wet. André Lotterer is the first competitor to set a time, at 2:07.529, which Bianchi improves by six seconds shortly after.

After 15 minutes, no one is on the track anymore. Most of the drivers are even out of their cockpits. Three men have set a time so far: Bianchi, Chilton, and Lotterer, in that order.

After half an hour, Esteban Gutierrez breaks the silence! The Mexican positions himself at the end of the pit lane for a practice start. He has gone out on medium slick tires: he will be closely watched by the entire field to see if the grip is sufficient. Apparently, it is not for his colleagues. The Sauber C33 No. 21 takes the lead, with times of 2:00.242 and then 1:56.151. Meanwhile, the Marussias and Ericsson have joined him.

Activity resumes at Spa, where more and more drivers are leaving their garages on medium or soft dry tires. As often in these conditions, times are improving with each lap, so the top of the timesheet is unstable.

15 minutes before the end of the session, the provisional top 5 consists of Bottas, Räikkönen, Hamilton, Ricciardo, and Vettel. The Friday’s leading trio is back, with Alonso, Rosberg, and then Hamilton successively taking the lead. The 2008 world champion records a time of 1:50.022, one-thousandth ahead of his teammate. Soft tires are in use: Räikkönen takes advantage to move ahead, two-tenths in front of the Stevenage native. One Finn follows another: Bottas takes the lead with a 1:49.465.

The checkered flag is waved: Valtteri Bottas sets the fastest time of this session, just under three-tenths ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Rosberg.