15:35
Verstappen drops Perez and takes the lead
With the DRS, when he had just signed the lap record, Verstappen got rid of Perez with disconcerting ease at Les Combes. Verstappen leads on lap 17.
15:34
Verstappen puts pressure on Perez
The Dutchman salvaged two seconds off Perez in one lap. It flies, it’s impressive. He is glued to his teammate.
15:32
Three pilots did not stop
Stroll, Russell and Gasly did not go through the pits. The three pilots are waiting for the rain which could intervene in ten minutes. Big bet here.
15:31
Verstappen follows the strategy of Perez who regains the lead
On lap 14, Verstappen slipped into the pits, annoyed after several discussions with his engineer. The Dutchman put on the mediums and came out second, two seconds behind Perez.
15:30
Perez and Leclerc in the pits, Verstappen leading
Verstappen took the lead as Perez and Leclerc raced into the pits at the end of lap 13. Average stop for the Mexican who comes out second in front of Leclerc. Both pilots are in mediums.
15:28
Hamilton in the pits
The Briton lacked pace for a few laps and stopped at the end of the 12th lap. It puts on the mediums after the softs and does not lose any place since it comes out 4th.
15:26
Stable spreads ahead
Perez is 2.5 seconds ahead of Verstappen who pushes Leclerc to 3.5 seconds.
Sergio Perez. JOHN THYS/AFP
15:24
Alonso stops
At the end of the tenth lap, Alonso made his first pit stop and delivered mediums. Strange choice. There will therefore be a second stop for the Aston Martin driver. Fifth, Alonso now finds himself ninth.
15:23
Gasly 8e, Ocon 12e
Pierre Gasly is currently in the points in 8th position but he hasn’t stopped yet. Ocon is 12th after his overtaking on Magnussen, with already a stoppage on the clock.
Pierre Gasly. KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP
15:21
Rain in 20 minutes?
Lewis Hamilton’s engineer told him that the rain could fall in 20 minutes. A light downpour obviously, nothing to do with the bad weather on Friday and Saturday.
15:21
Verstappen overtakes Leclerc
Ninth lap and Max Verstappen is already 2nd. With the help of the DRS, the Dutchman comes to swallow Leclerc in Les Combes. Unstoppable. He chases Perez, three seconds ahead.
15:19
Three seconds ahead for Perez
The Mexican widens the gap in front with 3 seconds ahead of Leclerc who is under threat from Verstappen.
15:18
Sainz stops
Despite his damage, Ferrari left Sainz on track and did not force him to retire. He put on hard tires for his first stop at the end of the 7th lap. He returned to the track in 18th place.
15:17
Sainz keeps going back
The Spaniard, with his damaged car, continues to drop in the standings. He is now tenth and under threat from Sargeant.
15:16
Ocon and Bottas in the pits
At the end of the 6th lap, Ocon switches to mediums and abandons the softs. It follows the strategy of Norris, who stopped a lap earlier for hard rubber.
15:15
Verstappen many Hamilton
At Les Combes with the DRS, Verstappen literally swallows Hamilton and takes third place. He goes in pursuit of Leclerc, at a good pace.
15:13
Incredible start from Albon
15th on the grid, the Williams driver is already 8th. He puts pressure on Sainz who has a hole in his pontoon following the collision with Piastri on the first lap.
15:12
Norris loses two positions
The McLaren driver finds himself 11th after the overtaking of Stroll and Russell. It starts badly for orange cars.
15:11
Alonso passe Sainz
Fernando Alonso gets rid of Fernando Alonso at Les Combes. He takes fifth place.
15:10
Tsunoda 7e
Excellent start from the Japanese. 11th on the grid, the Alpha Tauri driver avoided trouble in the first laps and is in seventh place.
15:09
Perez flies ahead
Two seconds ahead already for Sergio Perez on Charles Leclerc. Behind the Ferrari driver, Hamilton and Verstappen honk their horns.
15:07
Sainz has damage, Piastri retires
The two drivers touched at the first corner at the start. Piastri was good last and retired at the start of the third sector. Sainz, he holds his fifth place but he is stuck with damage to his car.
15:06
Verstappen already 4th
The Dutchman is already glued to Hamilton. He is fourth after overtaking Sainz and Piastri.
15:05
Perez passes Leclerc and takes the lead, a struggling McLaren
Stormy start at the first corner with a Piastri who tries inside in the hairpin but breaks his front wing. Behind, Perez jumped Leclerc and took the lead in Les Combes.
15:04
It’s off to Belgium!
The fires have just gone out in Spa. The pilots rush towards the first corner. Good race to all.
15:00
The formation lap
The drivers set off for the warm-up lap at Spa. The opportunity for us to discover the tires used by the pilots at the start. In the first six, everyone starts on soft except Piastri on medium. Russell, Alonso, Stroll, Norris and Tsunoda are also mediums.
14:55
Five minutes before departure
The grid begins to empty at Spa. The departure is approaching. The formation lap will be started in five minutes. Still no rain, so the start will be on a dry track.
14:48
Hamilton and Mercedes in ambush
Mercedes unveiled new sidepods on its W14 and a new rear wing at Spa. The German team hopes to do well in terms of performance but it was difficult to measure with the changing conditions of the weekend. However, Lewis Hamilton starts 3rd this Sunday and the Briton is comfortable in Belgium. Performing well on Saturday, fourth in the sprint on the track then 7th after a five-second penalty after contact with Perez, the seven-time world champion can clearly play for victory on Sunday if he manages to stop Verstappen’s comeback.
14:41
Alpine wants to raise its head
The Blues remain on two weekends with no points scored. In the midst of a sporting revolution, Alpine has announced movement within its team at the end of this weekend and this seems to have awakened the troops. On Saturday, Pierre Gasly gave a whole team a smile with his third place in the sprint. A good omen for Sunday even if the Alpines will be quite far: Gasly 12th and Ocon 14th.
Pierre Gasly during the sprint. Paul Vaicle / PANORAMIC
14:31
The sprint for Verstappen, Gasly 3rd
On Saturday, it was time for the sprint with the shootout in the morning and the race in the afternoon. Max Verstappen topped both and added eight points to his tally. Disturbed by the rain, the sprint was animated with early stops to put on the intermediates and in this little game Oscar Piastri (2nd) and Pierre Gasly (3rd) pulled out of the game. Sainz (4th) and Leclerc ( 5th) made a nice group shot for Ferrari as the British completed the points area with Lando Norris (6th), ahead of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
14:26
Rain during the race?
This is the big question. This Sunday seems to be the mildest day above Spa-Francorchamps. The city was waterlogged on Friday and Saturday and today the sky is clearer but the rain still threatens the race. It remains to be seen if it will come and when it will fall.
14:21
The starting grid
14:18
Leclerc on pole, Verstappen penalized
Sprint weekend obliges, the qualifications took place on Friday. The best time was set by Max Vertsappen but the Dutchman changed his gearbox this weekend and inherited a 5-place grid penalty. He will start 6th. To the delight of Charles Leclerc, author of his 20th career pole, the second of the season. The Monegasque is comfortable in Belgium and will have to battle with Sergio Perez, second on the grid. The second row is composed of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz while on the third we will find Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen.
14:13
Spa-Francorchamps, the slide of the Ardennes
F1 used to settle in Belgium at the end of August but this season, Spa arrives at the end of July to replace the Grand Prix de France. The last round before the summer break promises since in the Ardennes the weather conditions are changing, as they have been since the start of the weekend, and on a 7km long route this makes driving very tricky. Guaranteed show.
14:10
Hello everyone
Welcome to Le Figaro to follow LIVE the Belgian Grand Prix, the twelfth round of the Formula 1 season. The start will be given at 3 p.m. at Spa-Francorchamps.
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