Formula 1 ups the pace at Spa

Michelle Foster

From fast to even faster, Formula 1 upped the pace at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit on Saturday morning as Kimi Raikkonen posted a new lap record.

Arriving at the circuit on Saturday morning, Red Bull summed up the walk to the paddock rather aptly with “Smile selfie sign repeat”.

With the track not quite dry and not quite wet, Esteban Gutierrez waits in the pits in his Force India for the conditions to improve.

Daniil Kvyat gets ready to head out – and hopefully avoid any new penalty points – as he was the first driver to put in any serious running on Saturday morning, and posted the day’s first time of 1:48.4.

Prior to FP3 it was revealed that Stoffel Vandoorne’s penalty count was up to 65 – two engine changes and a new gearbox for the Belgian racer. Not ideal at his home grand prix but such is the life of a McLaren-Honda driver.

The scenic Spa-Francorchamps shot…

Lewis Hamilton set the early pace on Saturday morning with a 1:45.480, which he set using the supersoft Pirellis.

Max in the mirror!

Kvyat’s practice ended early when he lost power, parked the car and it caught fire.

Kimi Raikkonen took over at the top with a 1:45.422 and then bettered that with a 1:43.916 on the ultras – a new lap record for the Spa circuit.

Pascal Wehrlein, who is facing a five-place gearbox penalty, heads up Eau Rouge in his Sauber.

More to follow…