World Champion Lewis Hamilton set the pace in final practice for Formula 1’s Belgian Grand Prix, while Ferrari finished as the slowest of the 10 teams.
In a largely dry session – which featured only a sprinkling of localised rain early on – Hamilton clocked a time of 1:43.255s to finish on top.
His time was 0.230s faster than Esteban Oocn, as Renault continued to impress in the wake of Daniel Ricciardo classifying second on Friday.
Renault’s customer team, McLaren, showed strong speed courtesy of Lando Norris, who registered third.
Alexander Albon was the lead Red Bull driver in fourth, with Max Verstappen sixth, split by Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, who went wide at La Source on his push lap.
Ferrari’s dismal weekend worsens
Ferrari has endured a fraught 2020 campaign and on Friday its SF1000 lacked speed.
But on Saturday morning its prospects appeared even bleaker.
Charles Leclerc, on pole last year, was 1.8s off the pace in 17th position, while Sebastian Vettel was the slowest of the 20 drivers.
All of the other teams managed a quicker time than a Ferrari driver, including the perennial 2020 backmarkers.
Nicholas Latifi hauled Williams up to 13th, Kevin Magnussen put Haas in 14th, while Kimi Raikkonen took 16th for Alfa Romeo, with a buffer of over two-tenths to Leclerc.
It leaves Ferrari in real danger of failing to even make Q2 later on Saturday afternoon.
What else?
In a relatively uneventful session Racing Point – historically strong in Belgium – had a subdued showing, with Lance Stroll only eighth and Sergio Perez further back in 10th.
Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz Jr. were seventh and ninth respectively – behind their team-mates – while Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat maintained their customary positions of being slightly adrift of the midfield group but clear of the backmarkers.
Saturday’s qualifying session is scheduled for 15:00 local time.
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:43.255 | 9 | |
| 2 | E. Ocon | Renault | 1:43.485 | +0.230 | 9 |
| 3 | L. Norris | McLaren | 1:43.641 | +0.386 | 12 |
| 4 | A. Albon | Red Bull | 1:43.731 | +0.476 | 13 |
| 5 | V. Bottas | Mercedes | 1:43.813 | +0.558 | 9 |
| 6 | M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:43.896 | +0.641 | 10 |
| 7 | D. Ricciardo | Renault | 1:43.973 | +0.718 | 8 |
| 8 | L. Stroll | Racing Point | 1:43.988 | +0.733 | 12 |
| 9 | C. Sainz | McLaren | 1:44.006 | +0.751 | 13 |
| 10 | S. Perez | Racing Point | 1:44.180 | +0.925 | 12 |
| 11 | P. Gasly | AlphaTauri | 1:44.508 | +1.253 | 14 |
| 12 | D. Kvyat | AlphaTauri | 1:44.543 | +1.288 | 14 |
| 13 | N. Latifi | Williams | 1:44.771 | +1.516 | 11 |
| 14 | K. Magnussen | Haas | 1:44.841 | +1.586 | 10 |
| 15 | R. Grosjean | Haas | 1:44.844 | +1.589 | 16 |
| 16 | K. Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | 1:44.932 | +1.677 | 11 |
| 17 | C. Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:45.147 | +1.892 | 12 |
| 18 | G. Russell | Williams | 1:45.157 | +1.902 | 11 |
| 19 | A. Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | 1:45.190 | +1.935 | 13 |
| 20 | S. Vettel | Ferrari | 1:45.420 | +2.165 | 12 |
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