Red Bull's Max Verstappen quickest in rain-shortened FP3 at Spa

The Red Bull ace clocked in 1.4 seconds ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri in the challenging wet conditions. Verstappen's blistering pace was followed by Alpine's Pierre Gasly, who trailed by 1.6 seconds.

However, Verstappen's impressive performance came with the caveat of a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday's race, owing to his team exceeding the season's power unit allocation.

Despite the lap times being far from definitive, drivers got an initial sense of the wet track before the session was abruptly interrupted. Stroll's incident at Eau Rouge was the major highlight. The Aston Martin driver lost control mid-corner, leading to a spin that saw his car collide with the inside wall.

The crash inflicted substantial damage on the front left corner of Stroll's vehicle, but fortunately, he emerged unscathed. The severity of the crash warranted the deployment of red flags, halting the session.

As the red flags waved, the weather conditions at Spa-Francorchamps took a turn for the worse, with heavier rain enveloping the circuit. The practice resumed only briefly before deteriorating weather forced another suspension.

Lando Norris of McLaren secured the fourth spot, followed by Alpine's Esteban Ocon and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Stroll, despite his crash, managed to post the seventh-fastest time. Valtteri Bottas, representing Sauber, finished eighth, narrowly ahead of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes and Sergio Perez's Red Bull.

Daniel Ricciardo faced his own challenges, cutting his session short after just four laps due to steering wheel issues. The Australian driver, back in Formula 1 with Red Bull, expressed his frustration, saying, "It's not the ideal start, but we'll work through it."

As the teams and drivers brace themselves for the main event, the Belgian Grand Prix promised an unpredictable race day. The 44-lap race around the historic 7.004-kilometre Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps set for Sunday, July 28, with the weather forecast hinting at more rain, potentially reshuffling the grid and adding to the excitement.

FP3 times for the Belgian Grand Prix:

1 Max Verstappen 2:01.565
2 Oscar Piastri +1.433
3 Pierre Gasly +1.610
4 Lando Norris +1.807
5 Esteban Ocon +3.685
6 Charles Leclerc +4.468
7 Lance Stroll +4.472
8 Valtteri Bottas +4.927
9 Lewis Hamilton +5.186
10 Sergio Perez +5.538
11 Alexander Albon +5.878
12 Nico Hulkenberg +6.475
13 Fernando Alonso +6.506
14 Daniel Ricciardo +6.845
15 Yuki Tsunoda +7.879
16 Guanyu Zhou +9.544
17 Logan Sargeant +9.655
18 George Russell
19 Kevin Magnussen
20 Carlos Sainz