28/07/2023
NEWS STORY
Should rain continue to hit the Spa Francorchamps circuit, the weekend schedule could be revised including the scrapping of the Sprint.
The heavy rain which blighted opening practice is set to continue today and Saturday, with Sunday likely to see only showers.
However, during this morning's sole practice session race control advised that under the circumstances the weekend schedule may need to be revised and as a result teams were told not to treat the session as competitive.
With Sunday's Grand Prix and qualifying for the grid having priority, the FIA warned that it is fully prepared to scrap tomorrow morning's Shootout and the subsequent Sprint should weather conditions necessitate.
"We can confirm that the teams have been informed that Free Practice will not be used to set the grid for either the Sprint or the Grand Prix this weekend," said the FIA. "This has been done to ensure the teams do not treat the first session of the weekend as a competitive session.
"While the situation regarding the weather is constantly evolving, the priority will be to run a qualifying session for the Grand Prix. Other sessions may be cancelled or rescheduled to facilitate this, and if it is impossible to run a qualifying then the grid will be set by championship order."
Check out our Friday gallery from Spa here.