FRIDAY DEBRIEF: How it's looking after Belgian GP qualifying as wet weather sets up spicy weekend

F1 Correspondent & PresenterLawrence Barretto
SPA, BELGIUM - JULY 28: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull RacingSPA, BELGIUM - JULY 28: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 in the Pitlane during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on July 28, 2023 in Spa, Belgium. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

Rain lashed Spa on Friday but eased off as qualifying progressed to set up a thrilling session as conditions improved and lap times tumbled. Teams were limited to just a handful of laps of practice, though, and that means they have no significant long run data heading into Saturday’s Sprint Shoot-out and Sprint as well as Sunday’s Grand Prix. Here’s how things are looking after the opening day of action…

Ferrari looked most comfortable in changeable conditions

With Spa’s epic 7km track sodden from persistent rain, there was very little action in the weekend’s only practice session – but from what we did see, it was the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz who looked the most confident in very tricky conditions.