Why did the FIA resume FP3 at Spa with three minutes on the clock?

The third and final free practice session at Spa-Francorchamps literally fell into the water. Due to the huge rain showers that fell in the Ardennes and Lance Stroll's crash, the red flag was waved for a long time. With only a few minutes on the clock, it was still decided to resume the session in consultation with the teams. Why did the FIA decide to resume final practice after all?

Eventually after much deliberation, it was decided to finish the session. So a number of drivers still drove out on rain tyres. The reason was ultimately to be able to do trial starts. " The session resumed for the last 2 minutes of FP3 to give the drivers a chance to do some practice starts," the FIA announced.

Max Verstappen eventually grabbed the fastest time. Oscar Piastri and Pierre Gasly completed the top three with P2 and P3.

This article was written in collaboration with Sophia Crothall.