2022 F1 Belgian GP FP3: Sergio Perez leads as Red Bull lay down marker in qualifying

Sergio Perez led the way for Red Bull in the third free practice session at the Belgian GP.

The Mexican ended the session .137 seconds quicker than his teammate Max Verstappen with a lap in the dying stages of the session.

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Red Bull dominate while Ferrari and Mercedes struggle at Belgian GP

Unlike the last few races where both Ferrari and Mercedes were able to fine-tune their cars to suit the circuit better, that was not the case at the Belgian GP. Although, the proof is in the pudding, and the true picture would emerge in qualifying, it appears both Mercedes and Ferrari are on the backfoot this weekend.

Behind the top two slots occupied by the Red Bull of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz slotted in third, while Charles Leclerc was behind in seventh. The Mercedes drivers - George Russell and Lewis Hamilton - found themselves in sixth and 12th respectively, with both suffering from low straight-line speed.

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Midfield converges grid at Belgian GP

The midfield has seen far too many surprises at the Belgian GP this weekend. Arguably the biggest of them was McLaren's Lando Norris positioning himself closer to the front of the grid.

He was P4 eventually, what was especially notable was his speed in a straight line. It does appear that the team has addressed the issue of excessive drag plaguing it.

Meanwhile, the Alpine of Fernando Alonso and the Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel were only a tenth of a second away from McLaren, indicating that the field has certainly converged.

Fernando Alonso was P5, while Sebastian Vettel was P8, both of them posting quicker times than Hamilton, who was P12.

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Williams with skinny rear wing could be dark horse

Williams have been the surprise package all weekend with their ridiculously fast straight-line speed in S1. Their two cars have been posting purple times in S1 all week long and were doing that again in FP3 as well.

Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi found themselves 13th and 14th in the standings, but their positions could have been better had they done their laps later in the sessions.

Compared to teams like Haas (Kevin Magnussen in 17th, Mick Schumacher in 20th) - who appear to be struggling extensively with excessive drag - Williams appear to have a leg up on a few of their midfield opponents.