Raikkonen tops Vettel in final Belgian GP practice

2017 Belgian Grand Prix second practice

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Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest ever lap around Spa-Francorchamps to top the timesheets during final practice for the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Ferraris of Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel went fastest of all in the session, ahead of the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.

Raikkonen’s 1’43.916 on ultra soft tyres was almost two tenths faster than team mate Vettel, who himself was only one thousandth of a second quicker than championship rival Lewis Hamilton.

The track was slightly damp as the final practice session at Spa-Francorchamps got underway, but it was quickly clear that the circuit was dry enough for slicks.

Ferrari and Mercedes set their qualifying simulation runs relatively early in the session.

Jolyon Palmer had a promising session, setting the seventh-fastest time in his Renault. It was a difficult session for Williams, with Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa down in 15th and 16th places, respectively.

It was a relatively uneventful session, with Daniil Kvyat pulling off the circuit along the Kemmel Straight after an apparent engine switch off the only incident of note.

PositionDriverTeamLap time
1Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1’43.916
2Sebastian VettelFerrari1’44.113
3Lewis HamiltonMercedes1’44.114
4Max VerstappenRed Bull1’45.034
5Valtteri BottasMercedes1’45.230
6Daniel RicciardoRed Bull1’45.286
7Jolyon PalmerRenault1’45.491
8Sergio PerezForce India1’45.857
9Carlos SainzToro Rosso1’45.942
10Fernando AlonsoMcLaren1’46.060
11Nico HülkenbergRenault1’46.064
12Esteban OconForce India1’46.179
13Romain GrosjeanHaas1’46.196
14Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren1’46.300
15Lance StrollWilliams1’46.620
16Felipe MassaWilliams1’46.667
17Kevin MagnussenHaas1’46.690
18Daniil KvyatToro Rosso1’47.903
19Pascal WehrleinSauber1’48.296
20Marcus EricssonSauber1’48.300

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Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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2 comments on “Raikkonen tops Vettel in final Belgian GP practice”

  1. Shouldn’t be third practice?

    1. Nope. ‘2017 Belgian Grand Prix third practice’ already taken for second practice article.

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