Ferrari maintained their grip at the top of the timesheets as Sebastian Vettel led teammate Kimi Raikkonen by just 0.063s in final practice at the Belgian Grand Prix.
In a very tight session between the top three, it was the Finn who looked just to have the edge as Vettel and Lewis Hamilton came close but couldn’t quite surpass him during the initial qualifying simulations.
Ultimately, the four-time world champion found just enough to squeeze ahead with a best time of 1m42.661s on the Supersoft tyre.
Hamilton was a tenth back in third for Mercedes, as the gaps around the longest circuit on the calendar were more akin to what you’d expect in Austria or Monaco.
A full picture wasn’t gained, however, as an incident between Valtteri Bottas and Stoffel Vandoorne on the Kemmel Straight saw the red flags called with 10 minutes to go.
The Belgian looked to pass the Mercedes driver who had just left the pits, but would be pushed onto the grass as Bottas didn’t anticipate the fast closing speed of the McLaren driver after Eau Rouge.
Vandoorne only made light contact with the barrier in a lucky escape and the matter is being investigated by the stewards.
Bottas would finish fourth in the final standings ahead of the two Red Bulls in fifth and sixth. The two drivers have taken differing approaches too, with Max Verstappen running extreme low downforce while teammate Daniel Ricciardo has opted to run with more wing.
The result was appreciable with the Dutchman four-tenths clear of the Australian who may think about reconsidering ahead of qualifying.
In the midfield, Charles Leclerc held a three-tenths gap over the rest in seventh for Sauber with the two Force India’s continuing to run well as Sergio Perez took eighth and Esteban Ocon 10th.
Renault also remain competitive with Nico Hulkenberg ninth as Haas continue to struggle. Romain Grosjean was 12th for the third straight session, two places ahead of teammate Kevin Magnussen in 14th.
Pierre Gasly suffered an embarrassing spin exiting the pit-lane after the red flag and finishing 15th won’t exactly help the Frenchman’s mood at Toro Rosso.
Completing the grid, both Williams’ beat both McLaren’s despite attempts by the latter to slipstream each other down the straights, something that was also a contributing factor to Vandoorne’s incident with Bottas.
Back at the front, Ferrari remain favourites to take pole the question is with which driver and just how close can Hamilton get?