FIA reveal Belgium Qualifying back-up plan

The FIA has informed Formula 1 teams that Belgian Grand Prixpractice times will not be used to set the grid. With heavyrainfall expected throughout the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps,teams have been told that the classification from the 60-minutesession will not set the grid for either the Sprint or main GrandPrix. This is to ensure "that teams do not treat the first sessionof the weekend as a competitive session," according to an FIAspokesperson. "The priority will be to run a Qualifying session forthe Grand Prix, other sessions may be cancelled or rescheduled tofacilitate this, and if it is impossible to run Qualifying, thenthe grid will be set by championship order." Qualifying forSunday's main race is set to take place at 17:00pm local time atSpa, about three-and-a-half hours following the conclusion ofpractice, during which teams used a mixture of Intermediate andfull Wet tyres. As for the Sprint race, there is a dedicatedQualifying session due to take place on Saturday morning that setsthe grid for the Sprint itself. Under the FIA's decision, theresults from practice will not be used to set the grid for eitherrace.