Hamilton leads Ocon in Belgian GP FP3, Ferrari slowest

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in final practice for Formula 1’s Belgian Grand Prix, while Ferrari’s miserable weekend continued with Charles Leclerc 17th and Sebastian Vettel slowest.

World championship leader Hamilton set his best time of 1m43.255s during the final flurry of activity in FP3, which was condensed into the last few minutes as teams waited for spots of rain to clear with around 15 minutes to go.

That resulted in a very congested final sector of the lap as some cars almost came to a standstill in a bid to find a tow or clear track.

With early-session pacesetters Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen aborting their final laps, Hamilton’s nearest challenger was Esteban Ocon, whose Renault was repeatedly the fastest car through the flat-out first sector.

Lando Norris was third for McLaren, with Alex Albon the lead Red Bull in fourth ahead of Bottas and Verstappen.

At the other end of the times Leclerc was one of several drivers to complain about traffic on his way to the 17th-fastest time, while his Ferrari team-mate Vettel briefly moved up to 19th with his final lap, only to be demoted to last again by George Russell’s Williams climbing up the order a couple of places.

Back in the top 10, Daniel Ricciardo was half a second slower than team-mate Ocon in the second Renault, while Lance Stroll was the lead Racing point in eighth – suggesting the Silverstone-based team didn’t get clear laps in at the end at a track its cars are expected to go well at.

Sergio Perez stayed out until the end of the session in a bid to find some clear track, but he was unable to get any higher than 10th by then, slotting in behind the second McLaren of Carlos Sainz Jr.

Practice 3 Results