Max Verstappen crashed at the culmination of second practice at the Belgian Grand Prix handing Lewis Hamilton the advantage going into qualifying and the race. The Dutchman lost control of his Red Bull and went sideways into the barrier.
Despite the incident, Verstappen ended on top of the timesheets on a dry day at Spa.
The forecast for the rest of the weekend is not so good though with a wet race a distinct possibility as the Dutchman fights Hamilton for the title.
Verstappen lost the rear end of his Red Bull at Turn 7 before hitting the barrier with the side and back of his car.
It brought a red flag out and a premature end to the second practice session.
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Verstappen looked frustrated when stepping out of the car and knows he has handed title-rival Hamilton the advantage going into the weekend.
It came after the news Red Bull have extended Sergio Perez’s contract and he will remain at the team for 2021.
The Mexican has been a good team-mate for Verstappen so far this year as he looks to end an era of Mercedes dominance.
The Dutchman has given his mechanics a significant repair job ahead of third practice tomorrow morning with what is sure to be an incident-packed weekend.
Earlier in the session Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc had brought the red flags out by crashing hard into the wall.
Esteban Ocon also endured a spin in his Alpine but was able to continue.
Verstappen blamed oversteer for hitting the barriers in his Red Bull.
He said: “I don’t know I just lost the rear. A bit too much oversteer to correct and unfortunately hit the wall.”
Verstappen was happy with his day’s work despite the crash which spoiled his end to Friday practice.
The Dutchman added: “It was good, the whole day we were quite happy. A few things to fine tune but overall we are very happy.”
The Belgian Grand Prix takes place from 2pm on Sunday with qualifying at the same time tomorrow.
FP2 standings
1. Max Verstappen – Red Bull
2. Valtteri Bottas – Mercedes
3. Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
4. Fernando Alonso – Alpine
5. Pierre Gasly – AlphaTauri
6. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin
7. Esteban Ocon – Alpine
8. Sebastian Vettel – Aston Martin
9. Lando Norris – McLaren
10. Sergio Perez – Red Bull
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