F1 news: Belgian GP over without incident after Russell called for race to be cancelled

That's all from us tonight.

Thanks very much for sticking with us throughout the day. Have a brilliant week!

Max Verstappen was embroiled in another tetchy Red Bull radio exchange with his race engineer today during the Belgian Grand Prix.

It came just a day after a back-and-forth with Gianpiero Lambiase during the sprint race.

Today, Lambiase was giving out instructions but Verstappen appeared far from happy with his latest comments.

Read the full story HERE.

Lewis Hamilton issued a worrying Mercedes update in the aftermath of the Belgian Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion revealed the team's bouncing issues had returned in what would mark a major step back for the F1 giants.

Carlos Sainz has blamed Oscar Piastri for causing their first-lap collision at Spa by being too aggressive into Turn One.

"I made the apex cleanly but, unfortunately, Oscar was trying to do a bit of an optimistic move on me," said the Spaniard.

"A bit of a shame because when you review the past races here in Spa, and what have been the typical Turn One incidents, it’s exactly that.

"Everyone who tries the inside line into Turn One, and tries to really make it around there, normally generates an incident or a crash and this time it was my turn to receive it."

Max Verstappen has had his winner's trophy destroyed for the second week running as Red Bull got carried away after his latest victory in Belgium.

Some team members ran forward during their post-race photo as others began spraying champagne with the trophy in the firing line.

Verstappen was visibly shocked as mechanics pointed out the incident, but the Dutchman quickly saw the funny side...

Lewis Hamilton has joked that Max Verstappen must be loving life on the top step of the podium every week after winning his eighth straight race at the Belgian Grand Prix.

When asked in his post-race interview if Verstappen is having it too easy at the front, Hamilton said: "He's having a smoke and a pancake."

Max Verstappen trolled the likes of Sergio Perez, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton at the Belgian Grand Prix over his huge advantage out front.

After being told he put a lot of stress on his new soft tyres on an out lap, Verstappen replied: "I could also push open and we do another stop? A little bit of pitstop training."

The Dutchman's comment was clearly a jab at his rivals given he was miles clear of his rivals at the time at Spa.

Max Verstappen has coasted to another victory, this time at the Belgian Grand Prix as Red Bull's dominance was on show once again with a record 13th consecutive win for the team.

The Dutchman started from P6 but soon made his way to the front of the grid, even later trolling his rivals by suggesting he could pit late on but given his healthy lead he would still win.

Sergio Perez finished in second place while the podium was completed by Charles Leclerc in third, Lewis Hamilton took fourth and set the day's fastest lap on his final trip round the circuit.

Martin Brundle ditched his usual grid walk for the Belgian Grand Prix this afternoon - instead choosing to interview fans instead of celebrities.

The Sky Sports F1 analyst wanted to repay fans who had to sit out in the rain at Spa.

But he quickly ran into difficulty after realising most of the crowd didn't understand what he was saying. After being met with bemused faces, he quickly turned to the audience and said: “Who can speak English?”

The cars are off and the Belgian Grand Prix has begun, with Max Verstappen starting from sixth on the grid after his five-place penalty.

Charles Leclerc is on pole and he along with Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to bring an end to Red Bull's 2023 dominance.

We have a live blog running for the race where you can keep fully up-to-date with all the action, in what promises to be an exciting afternoon of racing.

Sky Sports pundits Martin Brundle, Naomi Schiff and Anthony Davidson spent a lengthy portion of the programme discussing the safety concerns involving F1 drivers.

Dilano van 't Hoff died in an accident at Spa-Francorchamps earlier this month while racing in heavy rain, while a F2 crash at the same circuit in 2019 saw Anthoine Hubert pass away.

Tributes have been held to commemorate both, as the trio spoke about the dangers that F1 drivers are aware of every time they step into their cars.

Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle paid an emotional tribute to Dilano van 't Hoff at the start of today's programme, after the driver died at Spa earlier this month.

The 18-year-old tragically passed away at Spa-Francorchamps after a crash during a Formula Regional European Championship race.

He was a casualty of a multiple-car accident during a wet race, after a restart, as calls have since been made to consider safety ahead of today's race as Brundle highlighted the concerns.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has confirmed that Daniel Ricciardo will not be racing for the team until at least 2025, if at all.

Ricciardo is competing in his first Grand Prix of the year today with AlphaTauri, having replaced Nyck de Vries, following rumours that he could replace Sergio Perez.

However, Horner has shut down any possibility of the switch happening until 2025. “Clearly his objective [is] a 2025 Red Bull Racing seat when we have obviously a vacancy," Horner said.

"Now, Daniel has an opportunity between now and the end of the year to demonstrate that he hasn’t lost any of his form.

“Then, obviously, a decision will be made as to whether he remains in that seat for a further 12 months.

"But it would obviously be very clear that AlphaTauri drivers – and Toro Rosso before that – have been placed there to develop them as potential Red Bull Racing candidates. Daniel’s very aware of that, and that’s his objective, but that wouldn’t be before 2025.”

Lewis Hamilton's contract negotiations continue to rumble on amid previous claims that Ferrari wanted to sign the seven-time world champion.

His current deal expires at the end of the year, as Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has explained the hold-up in discussions.

Ferrari were once believed to have been so desperate to land the Brit that they were willing to offer Charles Leclerc to the Silver Arrows in exchange.

Mercedes driver George Russell previously called for the Belgian Grand Prix to be cancelled if it cannot be run safely, after two deaths at the circuit since 2019.

After Saturday's racing, the Brit insisted that conditions were still "dangerous" and felt that the Safety Car should be removed in order to prevent further spray - improving visibility.

"I think they did a good job under the circumstances,” he said. “It's very challenging. Still, incredibly dangerous conditions, you are doing 300 kilometres an hour on the straight, and you can't see 50 metres in front of you.

“It seems particularly bad in this circuit. I don't know if it's the humidity, or the trees or what, but the spray just doesn't seem to disperse. And it's like you're driving into a cloud.

“I felt like those four laps under the safety car didn't really give us a lot. It was the same I think in Japan, we were doing lots of laps under the safety car and it didn't really improve things.

“So maybe a solution for the future is if they allow us to do two, three, four laps at full racing speed and then bring the safety car out to neutralise the pack, and go again, because after two laps of racing things were much better.”

Daniel Ricciardo made his return to the grid this weekend after replacing Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri.

Though there had been rumours that Red Bull were considering him to replace Sergio Perez after some disappointing qualifying performances.

But Ricciardo has since played down talk and insisted that his focus is on his current team. “That’s, call it the dream, so to speak,” Ricciardo said regarding a return to Red Bull.

“But there’s no point me thinking about that. There’s going to be a lot of work to do here. I’ve got to do the best with what I’ve got, and I think that’s where, if it’s something that I feel I can work with, then that’s all I need to then obviously feel good behind the wheel again, and also obviously use some of my experience to push the team.”

George Russell and Charles Leclerc were among the drivers to complain about Pirelli's wet tyres at Spa.

During yesterday's Sprint session the tyres were quickly ditched by numerous stars in a bid to move up the grid after the Safety Car departed during the Sprint race.

Russell described the wet tyres as "pointless" during a weekend where in theory they should be used, as a result of the heavy rain at Spa.

“The extreme tyre is pretty pointless tyre, it's really, really bad,” said Russell. “It's probably six, seven seconds a lap slower than the intermediate. And the only reason you'd ever run the extreme wet is because you'd aquaplane on an intermediate. So that needs to be substantially improved."

Leclerc added: “There's some work that needs to be done there because we've got extreme tyres that are really slow but that are really good for aquaplaning. But we never drive in those conditions because of visibility."

Ahead of today's Belgian Grand Prix the weather conditions were expected to improve and possibly feature a dry race - however this is not the case as rain continues to fall at Spa.

Yesterday saw both the Sprint Shootout and race delayed owing to heavy rain, which could play a part once again.

Fans will be hoping that further delays are not imminent, but there have been calls for numerous drivers to halt proceedings and even cancel the race if the conditions ensure that it is not safe to drive.

Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has played down Max Verstappen's angry radio exchange with engineer Gianpiero Lambiase at Spa.

The Dutchman was unhappy with the team's strategy which led to him going back and forth over the radio with Lambiase.

Helmut, however, compared the two to an "old married couple" as he played down the seriousness of the situation.

Marko told German media: “In Q2 there was a thing between Max and his race engineer, there were different opinions as to when, who, where, and how should drive out.

“The two are like an old married couple, there’s an argument sometimes. But both have calmed down again, all is well.”

“That’s Max when he’s under pressure or when he doesn’t perform as he could because he always wants the maximum. That’s one of the traits that makes him so incredibly competitive."

Fernando Alonso has been told that spinning out during yesterday's Sprint race was "karma" by Nico Hulkenberg.

The Aston Martin driver came up on the kerb and spun into the gravel before retiring on his birthday, after team-mate Lance Stroll had already crashed during the Sprint Shootout.

But Hulkenberg believes that Alonso's spin was payback for him aggressively coming out of the pit lane and halting the Haas driver.

“He pushed me off pretty aggressively in turn two and I think karma hit back out at him,” Hulkenberg said. “[It was] difficult from last. I was one of the guys stopping right on lap one when it was possible.

"Picked up a few places but then was stuck in 15th, but also didn’t really have pace to come through. Weekend continues to be difficult. Pretty, pretty bad.”

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has provided a positive update on Lewis Hamilton's proposed new contract.

The Brit's current deal expires at the end of this season amid claims that he could leave for another team, but Wolff has confirmed that Hamilton will continue to help the Silver Arrows overthrow Red Bull.

Wolff said: “He knows about all the goodness and although we struggled with the car this year and last, he will be part of the resurrection of the team.”

Pierre Gasly took third in yesterday's Sprint in an impressive performance, but admitted he feared for his own safety during the race.

Both sessions were delayed due to weather concerns, while there had been calls for the race to be scrapped if it was deemed unsafe - something Gasly raised further issues about.

"It's not really a question of conditions because the conditions were probably raceable since the first lap," Gasly said. "It's a tricky call. You want to race, but at the same time I'm glad everything went safely today.

"The problem is the visibility. The spray at the moment is so huge out of these cars, the water just stays in the air.

"I just couldn't even see ten to 20 metres in front of me, even when we were all warming up the tyres and stuff. You were just hoping for the best. I didn't feel safe."

Max Verstappen reigned supreme once again in the Belgian GP sprint race, despite the threat from Oscar Piastri.

It has been a procession for the Red Bull ace this year, and George Russell expressed his dissatisfaction about this before today's sprint race.

While addressing the crowds before sprint qualifying at Spa, he said: "Formula One would be so exciting if Max and Red Bull weren't here at the moment.”

Lewis Hamilton has been handed a further blow on top of his five-second penalty during the Belgian Grand Prix sprint race.

After colliding with Sergio Perez, he was punished with a time penalty and was demoted from fourth to seventh in the sprint race.

Furthermore, the seven-time world champion has received two penalty points on his licence.

Fernando Alonso, who is celebrating his 42nd birthday today, has offered an explanation for the uncharacteristic mistake that saw him crash into the barriers at Spa this afternoon.

"I was following very closely behind Nico [Hulkenberg] at the entry to Pouhon," said Alonso. "I lost downforce, touched the white line and just lost the car."

"Trying to find grip and guessing the grip levels in each corner was tricky. It was very slippery and it was my mistake."

Pierre Gasly has admitted that he was concerned about his safety in the wet conditions at Spa due to the spray thrown up by the cars ahead of him.

"I just couldn’t even see 20 metres in front of me and even when we were all warming up the tyres and stuff, you were just hoping for the best," said Gasly.

"I didn’t feel safe. When they restarted, I was really hoping no guy gets off the track or collides and gets stuck in the middle of the straight because we know obviously what’s happened.

"It’s not really a question of conditions because the conditions were probably raceable since the first lap."

“The problem is the visibility. And the spray at the moment is so huge out of these cars – the water just stays in the air.

Lewis Hamilton felt that his tangle with Sergio Perez was merely a racing incident despite the Brit being handed a five-second penalty for his role in the collision.

He said: "He [Perez] was pretty slow and went wide and slow through Turn 14.

"I got a great exit, I was more than half a car alongside him and we just ended up coming together.

“It was a bit of a racing incident really, naturally it wasn’t intentional but they saw it differently. It was very tricky conditions out there, we were all trying our best.

"It doesn’t make a huge difference, fourth or seventh in the sprint you don’t get a lot of points."

Both Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly were worried that visibility conditions were not good enough to race in during today's Sprint.

The pair started from the middle of the pack and Sky Sports commentator David Croft noted that they both complained that during the formation lap.

Gasly went on to finish in third, but during a weekend where calls have been made to stop racing if it is not safe to continue, Alpine's drivers appear to have had their views fall on deaf ears.

Max Verstappen has come out on top in an entertaining Sprint race, having wrestled back his place from McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

Piastri had overtaken Verstappen when the Red Bull driver went to put, but after a Safety Car was brought out following Fernando Alonso's crash - the Dutchman was able to overtake the youngster on his debut season.

Lewis Hamilton was handed a five-second penalty for his collision with Sergio Perez, tumbling down from fourth to seventh.

Pierre Gasly completed the podium with Verstappen and Piastri as the Alpine star took third.

Fernando Alonso became the first driver to retire in the Sprint race, as a yellow flag was brought out after he hit the barriers on his birthday.

Thankfully the Aston Martin man gave the thumbs up and confirmed that he is okay, having got on the outside kerb on lap four.

Oscar Piastri has taken the lead from Max Verstappen, though the Red Bull man is looking to overtake the youngster and regain his spot.

The cars are off at Spa but following a delay of over 30 minutes, George Russell was discussing the situation with Mercedes chief Toto Wolff.

Russell called for Wolff to join the team mechanics who were getting soaked in the race as opposed to his position under shelter.

“Yeah for loyalty," Wolff replied as the pair joked live on air. "Yep know it's even seeping into the garage I think I'm closing the doors you know.”

The drivers were preparing to get underway in Spa but for the second time today, the start of the race has officially been delayed.

The formation lap had been rescheduled for 4.12pm as opposed to the 4.05pm start, but since been pushed back to 4.35pm thanks to the heavy rain.

Max Verstappen is on pole and the likes of Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris especially will be looking to get one over on the Red Bull man and prevent their further dominance once we get underway.

Rain has started to fall quite heavily in Belgium on a weekend that has already seen delays due to whether. We have a race live blog where you can keep fully up to date with today's race - as Verstappen hopes to secure another victory.

George Russell has ignored Martin Brundle's suggestion that the Mercedes man should apologise to his team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Russell moved in front of Hamilton during the Sprint Shootout and forced a manoeuvre while the 38-year-old felt that aside from the action, he could have won pole instead of a seventh-placed finish.

Russell has decided against apologising, however, as he bemoaned a disappointing first session ahead of the Sprint Race.

Pierre Gasly has led the tributes as F1 stars paid their respects to Anthoine Hubert and Danilo van 't Hoff.

Hubert was just 22 when he lost his life during a F2 event at Spa in 2019, Van 't Hoff also passed away at the same circuit earlier this month.

Gasly, a close friend to Hubert, organised a run and invited all F1, F2 and F3 drivers to attend his form of tribute to the driver.

"I'm someone that is emotional," Gasly said. "It might be small things for people, but it's a lot bigger for me, and a lot more meaningful.

"It was a conversation which started early in the season. Everybody knows how close I was with Anthoine and I think they all know also how close he was with the team.

"This was organised well before the tragic incident which happened a couple of weeks ago.

"But I just think it's great that we all as a community, when these things happen, everyone that is a part of Formula 1, whether it's F2 or F3, the racing family comes together."

Lewis Hamilton bemoaned his team as he felt that he could have achieved Sprint pole during today's Sprint Shootout.

He was frustrated at a miscommunication that left himself and team-mate George Russell nose-to-tail and he was unable to manoeuvre as desired.

The Brit finished the Shootout in seventh place and will need to make up ground for the second session.

"We’re not happy about it obviously," he told Sky Sports F1. "It was a really fun session and it was looking great at the end.

"I had that lap which put me first for the first lap that I’d done and I knew I could go quicker. I reckon I could have been first or second on that last lap."

F1 have confirmed that the Sprint Race start time has been pushed back to 5.05pm as opposed to the planned beginning of 4.30pm.

The beginning of the Sprint Shootout was delayed due to poor weather conditions, forcing the schedule to move further back.

F1 regulations state there is a fixed window of 4.5 hours between the start of Sprint Shootout and the start of the Sprint Race.

Max Verstappen has insisted that even after grabbing Sprint pole, he can be even faster this weekend in a warning to his fellow drivers at the top of the grid.

He narrowly pipped Oscar Piastri and then explained that on occasions he was too safe to start the weekend.

"Yeah it was pretty difficult. It was similar to yesterday," Verstappen told Sky Sports F1. "I think we stayed calm, the gap was not as big as yesterday, but there was also no need to risk it all. My second sector was a bit careful but I am still on pole so that is what counts.

"It was getting better and better but Turn 8 and Turn 9 it was still super slippery so some time left on the table there.

"But is it OK, it is good to have a clean end to Qualifying. I will try to have a good start to have clean, clear vision. That is going to be important if it is wet."

Max Verstappen has won an exciting Sprint Shootout and will begin today's Spring Race at the front of the grid.

He pipped Oscar Piastri by just 0.011 seconds, with Caros in third, Charles Leclerc fourth and Lando Norris fifth.

Several teams saw their strategies backfire after a rain-affected start to the day which saw the Shootout delayed by 35 minutes - including Aston Martin after Lance Stroll's crash.

Aston Martin's plan has spectacularly backfired during SQ2 as Lance Stroll crashed and the resulting red flag ensured that Fernando Alonso was unable to record a lap.

They made the decision to race with slicks in a gamble, the session will not be restarted following Stroll's crash on Turn 9.

He slid off at the Corner With No Name as The two Aston Martins alongside Daniel Ricciardo, Logan Sargeant and Alex Albon will not continue.

McLaren driver Lando Norris made a "beautiful gesture" to the family of Dilano Van 't Hoff ahead of the Belgian GP.

The 18-year-old lost his life earlier this month during a FRECA race at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, the second death at the circuit since 2019.

Respects have been paid to both Van 't Hoff and Anthoine Hubert, as Norris gave his race helmet to the family of Van 't Hoff.

He wrote "always in our hearts" on the visor, coupled with a love heart, as on Instagram the family said: “Thank you Lando Norris for this beautiful gesture. Means a lot.”

F1 has confirmed that the start of the Sprint Shootout has been delayed due to heavy weather.

The rain continues to fall in Belgium as the beginning to Sprint day has been pushed back until 11.35am.

If the Sprint Shootout cannot run, yesterday's qualifying result will be used to determine the sprint race starting position - so Max Verstappen will start on pole without penalty, but there is optimism we will get underway soon.

Heavy rain continues to plague the Belgian Grand Prix as Sprint day is expected to be affected.

Wet tyres will be the likely plan amid calls from Mercedes man George Russell to prioritise safety over racing.

Today will see the Sprint Shootout determine the order for the Sprint Race later in the day, as many will hope the conditions start to improve.

George Russell has led calls to cancel the Belgian GP if conditions are not deemed safe. The 2021 edition was halted with less than 75 per cent of the race completed, and the Mercedes man would have no issue if a similar event occurred this weekend.

"I think, two years ago, that was the correct decision to call the race off," said Russell. "For one single F1 car to drive around, the conditions are safe enough and suitable enough to drive, but it's when you've got 20 cars on track at once.

"Anybody from third position backwards literally cannot see 30 or 40 metres away. Obviously, to have a race cancelled is not perfect for anybody, but we don't want to see another huge incident."

As it turns out, Daniel Ricciardo is now doing more for Max Verstappen than many fans first imagine.

Ricciardo sealed a return to Red Bull this summer, and team bosses have shed some light on the main reasonsings behind the move.

Chief of performance engineering Ben Waterhouse has explained how Ricciardo’s driving style falls somewhere between that of Verstappen and Sergio Perez, making him an invaluable asset that was needed to retain a stronger sense of team synergy.

Speaking ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, he said: "You need to have them in unison such that the driver feels comfortable in the car, and because these cars are so quick it’s so important that the driver is confident and in fear with the car.

“So we have to make sure that the two are compatible and the setup will then evolve to suit the driver’s characteristics and their driving style.”

Both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are poised to have impromptu talks with Mercedes ahead of the Belgian GP after sharing the same race concerns.

Both men noted a lack of pace on Friday during practice, and have flagged areas of concern to the powers that be within the team.

It comes after Hamilton nearly got himself on the podium last time around, and offered the team a great deal of encouragment during qualification for the Hungarian GP a week ago.

FULL STORY.

Kevin Magnussen has been sent tumbling three places down the grid for the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Haas star was found by race stewards to have impeded Charles Leclerc during qualifying.

The Ferrari ace was audibly frustrated over the team radio as he shouted: "What the f***? I don't know who that guy was, the Haas, but I hope he gets a penalty."

As a result of the near-miss, Magnussen will line up in P16 for Sunday's main event.

Sergio Perez will be looking ahead to Charles Leclerc instead of over his shoulder towards Max Verstappen when the Belgian Grand Prix gets underway on Sunday.

At least according to the Mexican himself, who wants to pip pole-sitter Leclerc in the first corner at Spa-Francorchamps.

His Red Bull team-mate, Max Verstappen, was almost a second quicker than everyone else in qualifying but he will start in P6 after accepting a five-place grid penalty.

"I will try to get Charles at the start, which is always hard," said Perez. "But, I think it's also a long race high degredation so anything can happen on Sunday.

"We certainly have a good position. It doesn't matter as long as I get him and that will be my target. But, I think tomorrow we got a very busy day so it feels like Sunday. It's miles away now."

Charles Leclerc has little to no expectations of a Belgium Grand Prix win, despite the fact he will line up in pole position on Sunday.

Max Verstappen blitzed the rest of the field in qualifying, but he has been demoted to P6 after taking a new gearbox.

When asked whether he is hopeful of converting his pole position into a race victory, Leclerc responded: "Let’s be realistic, I don’t think so.

"Red Bull are too quick. Even if Max has a five-place grid penalty, I expect him to catch up. We’ve got Checo [Perez] right next to us, which will also be difficult to keep behind.

"It will be difficult. If there is an opportunity, I’ll try to keep it, but it looks difficult on paper."

Max Verstappen has acknowledged that he has 'a lot of work to do' after accepting a grid penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull star dominated Friday qualifying but he will start P6 on the grid after taking a new gearbox.

"Great start," he wrote on Twitter. "But still a lot of work to do this weekend. Thank you everyone for supporting us, especially all of you that stayed out thhere in the rain today."

The FIA have decided to take no further action after Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were summoned to the stewards at Spa-Francorchamps.

Hamilton faced being slapped with a grid penalty in Belgium after allegedly rejoining the track unsafely ahead of Russell in qualifying.

But the Brit is off the hook, and will take his spot in P3 for Sunday's main event.

Carlos Sainz will share the second row, behind Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez.

Lewis Hamilton has highlighted the middle sector as a problem area for Mercedes at Spa.

The Brit took fourth in qualifying, although he will start Sunday's Grand Prix in third due to Max Verstappen's grid penalty.

"It didn't feel bad today," Hamilton told Sky Sports. "The car genuinely felt pretty decent, but in the middle sector we are losing a second.

"So I've got to go and study it to try and figure out where that is and if there's any way, with the package I have, that we can close that.

"But I'll give it absolutely everything I can tomorrow and hopefully the next qualifying will still be as good."

Max Verstappen set the fastest lap time in Q3 by almost a full second, but he will drop down to sixth on the grid for Sunday's race after accepting a five-place grid penalty for taking a new gearbox.

Charles Leclerc therefore takes pole with Sergio Perez also on the front row, while there were also respectable showings for Lewis Hamilton and both McLarens.

Read our full Belgian Grand Prix qualifying report HERE

Red Bull boss Christian Horner took immediate action after a guest appeared in his team's garage wearing a Ferrari cap.

In a comical moment, Horner approached the woman with some black sellotape and stuck it over the Prancing Horse logo. The lady clearly saw the funny side and grinned before taking the tape and applying it herself.

Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft said: “Someone is wearing a Ferrari cap in the Red Bull garage. Christian Horner has got the gaffer tape out and is ensuring corporate compliance at all times.”

READ MORE

The start of qualifying for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix has been delayed by 10 minutes.

Sunshine is now bearing down on the track, with organisers keen to give it a chance to dry out as much as possible.

There could be more unpredictability in the pipeline, however, with multiple teams monitoring a patch of rain threatening to impact the sessions in the next few minutes.

Max Verstappen has insisted that he never gets bored when leading the rest of the field after spending much of this year out on his own at the very front.

"I like solo races," said the Dutchman. "Maybe that’s not as interesting for the sport, but we try to make the gap to the rest bigger, that’s the goal.

"I don’t mind having to fight for it, I’ve done that all my life, so I don’t mind if I don’t have to all the time."

Alpine have revealed that Otmar Szafnauer will leave his role as team prinicipal after the Belgian Grand Prix as part of a major summer shake-up.

Sporting director Alan Permane is also set to depart after spending more than 30 years working for the Enstone squad.

Carlos Sainz has just finished practice as the quickest driver on track, setting a lap time of 2:03.207 on intermediate tyres.

He is closely followed by the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in second and third respectively.

The circuit is looking awfully wet as things stand, with the rain showing no sign of letting off.

Qualifying is still expected to go ahead as planned but it would not be a massive surprise if that changes over the next couple of hours.

Practice is underway in Belgium but only a handful of drivers have set meaningful lap times in the increasingly wet conditions.

There have been questions over whether the FIA could decide to scrap this afternoon's planned qualifying session as a result of the inclement weather.

The governing body is not planning to make any changes to this weekend's schedule as things stand, but a worst-case scenario would see the championship order used to set the grid for Sunday's race.

Charles Leclerc has refused to rule out the possibility of replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in future as he continues to wait over a potential new deal at Ferrari.

"It certainly means that I do my job well," he said when quizzed on the speculation linking him with a move to the Silver Arrrows.

"But these rumours leave me indifferent, because I know what I want, but I still don't know what Ferrari wants from me.

"The contract discussions haven't started yet, but for me everything is clear."

McLaren are seemingly not prepared to welcome Nico Rosberg into their garage at the Belgian Grand Prix in order to avoid jinxing their drivers.

The former Mercedes ace has recently been at the centre of a theory which suggests that whenever he posts a picture on social media, it results in defeat for the unlucky driver he has pictured.

It seems clear that McLaren are taking no chances at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend...

Charles Leclerc has insisted that improvements should be made at Spa-Francorchamps after a spate of serious accidents at the track's Eau Rouge-Raidillon complex in recent years.

"First of all, the walls in the straights after Eau Rouge should have a bit more space on the left and right," said Leclerc.

"If you lose control of the car at the moment, you are bouncing on the walls, and you have very high chances of finding yourself in the way again. I think this is probably a change that we should consider in the future, [rather] than to change the layout of Eau Rouge, by example.

"You can always change the layout, but I don't think it's fair to say that this is what should be done.The biggest problem after that is visibility."

Esteban Ocon has revealed that he is fit and firing on all cylinders after being sent to the medical centre following his early crash at last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Frenchman's seat snapped in half as a result of the force involved when he collided with Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly on the opening lap in Budapest.

He said: "It's been quite a short period between the incident and getting back on track, but I will be okay to race this weekend."

Mercedes have revised their sidepod design by introducing a more pronounced bump as well as revised cooling inlets.

The Silver Arrows have been tweaking their car in search of greater performance levels in recent months and will be hoping to make progress in terms of their on-track performances over the course of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.

Lewis Hamilton refused to fully answer a question from Sky Sports reporter Craig Slater in an awkward conversation ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.

The exchange appeared to take place in a Mercedes briefing after yesterday's press conference, with Slater asking: "Getting the pole again [in Hungary] obviously meant a lot. You said afterwards that maybe you’d questioned whether your own form had fallen off a little bit, in the last year or so.

"I just wonder if at any point in this period have you ever felt you had maybe lost something that you wouldn’t get back or where you always confident you could get back to your best?"

Hamilton looked puzzled as he paused before answering: "I don’t know. I think that’s a bit of a personal question and I probably don’t really want to go too much into that."

Max Verstappen will be hit with a five-place grid penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix after exceeding his gearbox allowance, according to De Telegraaf.

It is said that Verstappen will take on his fifth gearbox of the year at Spa-Francorchamps, which will ensure that the Dutchman will start no higher than sixth on Sunday.

George Russell believes that the FIA should cancel this year's Belgian Grand Prix if the conditions are unsafe at Spa-Francorchamps, where heavy rain is expected to fall this weekend.

"The two questions are, is Spa safe enough and then it’s the question of the conditions," said Russell.

"The fact is motorsport will always be dangerous when you’re travelling at these speeds. It’s the visibility [in the wet], we just have no visibility whatsoever.

"The way I describe it, to try and give some perspective, is driving down the motorway in pouring rain and turning your windscreen wipers off. That’s genuinely how it feels in the cockpit.

"There’s not really any short-term solutions. I personally think Spa is safe enough. We just need to find a solution for visibility."

Hello and welcome to Express Sport's coverage of the latest F1 news on the first day of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.

First practice is scheduled to get underway at 12.30pm before qualifying begins at 4pm, with the sprint format in place at Spa-Francorchamps.

We'll be on hand to keep you updated with the biggest stories throughout the day, so grab a coffee and stay tuned...