Best time and crash for Verstappen in Spa

Between the first two training sessions for the Belgian Grand Prix, the Mateschitz team announced on Friday the contract extension with driver Sergio Perez for 2022. Teammate Max Verstappen ended the second session with an accident three minutes before the end. The Dutchman thus retained his best time of the day.

At 1:44,472 minutes, Verstappen was significantly faster than Valtteri Bottas, who was sitting in the ejector chair at Mercedes in the morning. In the afternoon, the Dutchman remained a tiny 0,041 ahead of Bottas and 0,072 ahead of Hamilton. The times were also possible because the feared rain in the Ardennes failed to materialize in the afternoon. Hamilton could possibly have grabbed the fastest time in FP1. However, the defending champion had to brake heavily on his fastest lap to avoid a collision with Canadian Nicholas Lafiti's Williams.

Verstappen's car had to be towed. © APA/afp / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD

The second free practice session had to be canceled twice. Before Verstappen, Monegasque Charles Leclerc had already lost control of his Ferrari in the same turn 7. Shortly before the end, the same thing happened to Hamilton hunter Verstappen. “I suddenly lost the rear,” Verstappen radioed to the pits, where the cold-formed RB16B had to be smoothed again by Saturday.

Before the 12th of 23 planned races of the season on Sunday (15.00 p.m. CEST), Hamilton leads the drivers' championship by just eight points ahead of Verstappen. Verstappen was already 32 points ahead after his home double victory in Spielberg in July, but then retired from Silverstone before the summer break and only finished ninth in Hungary. Hamilton is currently on top again, but suspects “that the second half of the season will be even tougher”.

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Best time and crash for Verstappen in Spa

Red Bull made the headlines after the end of the Formula 1 summer break in Spa.

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