Raikkonen fastest before Spa qualifying shootout

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
© XPB 

Kimi Raikkonen put Ferrari back on top in Saturday's final free practice session, achieving a new lap record before this afternoon's qualifying session.

The Finn edged out team mate Sebastian Vettel by 0.197s, with Mercedes Lewis Hamilton just 0.001s behind his championship rival.

It was a close battle at the front in the first half hour of the session, with the top three drivers separated by just 0.058s.

Red Bull's pair of Max Verstappen and Daniel Riccairdo briefly found themselves at the helm after a run on the ultrasoft tyres. They ultimately ended the morning respectively P4 and P5, sandwiching Valtteri Bottas in fifth place.

Renault's Jolyon Palmer put in a great effort to finish the session seventh, in front of Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso. 

Dany Kvyat was forced to park his Toro Rosso early on when his engine suddenly lost power, while Marcus Ericsson covered just six laps to end up last and over 4 seconds adrift from Kimi Raikkonen.

Belgian Grand Prix - Free Practice 3 results

PosDriverTeamTimeGapLaps
1Kimi RäikkönenFerrari1:43.916s17
2Sebastian VettelFerrari1:44.113s+ 0.197s15
3Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:44.114s+ 0.198s11
4Max VerstappenRed Bull1:45.034s+ 1.118s13
5Valtteri BottasMercedes1:45.230s+ 1.314s18
6Daniel RicciardoRed Bull1:45.286s+ 1.370s18
7Jolyon PalmerRenault1:45.491s+ 1.575s11
8Sergio PérezForce India1:45.857s+ 1.941s14
9Carlos SainzToro Rosso1:45.942s+ 2.026s18
10Fernando AlonsoMcLaren1:46.060s+ 2.144s12
11Nico HülkenbergRenault1:46.064s+ 2.148s11
12Esteban OconForce India1:46.179s+ 2.263s14
13Romain GrosjeanHaas1:46.196s+ 2.280s14
14Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren1:46.300s+ 2.384s14
15Lance StrollWilliams1:46.620s+ 2.704s18
16Felipe MassaWilliams1:46.667s+ 2.751s22
17Kevin MagnussenHaas1:46.690s+ 2.774s13
18Daniil KvyatToro Rosso1:47.903s+ 3.987s7
19Pascal WehrleinSauber1:48.296s+ 4.380s17
20Marcus EricssonSauber1:48.300s+ 4.384s6

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter