Vettel leads Ferrari 1-2 in close-fought Spa FP3

Sebastian Vettel led Ferrari to a one-two finish in a close-fought final Formula 1 practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday morning, edging out teammate Kimi Raikkonen by just six-hundredths of a second.

After leading FP1 on Friday, Vettel returned to the head of the timesheets as teams got in their final simulations ahead of qualifying later today at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, with Ferrari enjoying an edge over rival teams Mercedes and Red Bull.

Raikkonen was the fastest driver after the initial flying laps were completed by the front-runners, with just 0.064 seconds covering both Ferraris and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in third place.

However, both Vettel and Raikkonen were able to find more time by going for a cool lap and then pushing again on their set of Supersoft tyres. Vettel gained one-tenth of a second on his lap, allowing him to take P1 ahead of Raikkonen, with Hamilton sitting 0.137s back in third place.

Valtteri Bottas ended the session in fourth place for Mercedes, but is set to face an investigation from the stewards after an incident between the Finn and McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne in the final 10 minutes of the session.

Vandoorne came across Bottas, who was on an outlap, on the Kemmel Straight, and attempted to  move to the right, only to be squeezed into the grass. Vandoorne spun on the wet grass and across the track before coming to rest in the barrier on the right-hand side, resulting in a red flag.

While Bottas explained over team radio he had not seen Vandoorne, the stewards quickly confirmed they would be investigating the incident after the session.

Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo could only manage a late flying lap in on the Supersoft tyre, leaving them fifth and sixth respectively. Sauber’s Charles Leclerc led the midfield in seventh, his best time coming on the Soft compound tyre, with Sergio Perez taking eighth for Force India. Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez rounded out the top 10 positions.

Marcus Ericsson took 11th for Sauber ahead of Romain Grosjean and Carlos Sainz Jr., with Kevin Magnussen slotting into P14. Pierre Gasly finished 15th despite a strange spin while coming out of the pit lane following the red flag, finishing just clear of Toro Rosso teammate Brendon Hartley.

Williams drivers Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin finished 17th and 18th ahead of Fernando Alonso, whose McLaren teammate Vandoorne propped up the timesheets, finishing 4.4 seconds off Vettel’s time.