Practice-
Trident’s Freddie Slater wound up fastest overall in the Spa-Francorchamps Free Practice session, setting a 2:06.311 to lead the pack.
Theophile Nael was second for Campos Racing, with Pedro Clerto third for Rodin Motorsport.
With preparation laps complete, Nael set the early time to beat with a 2:08.335. That was quickly beaten by compatriot Alessandro Giusit, who lowered the benchmark to a 2:06.895.
MP Motorsport teammate Tukkka Taponen then usurped him to go to P1 with a 2:06.622, with Slater moving up to second, just 0.093s behind the Finn.
Maciej Gladysz put ART Grand Prix top of the pile on his next attempt, before Clerot and then Slater beat his time. The Briton went to P1 with a 2:06.311, 0.239s ahead of the Brazilian.
Drivers returned to the pitlane with over 10 minutes to go to wait for more optimal track conditions.
With the cars back on track and the session ticking into the final five minutes, drivers went for their next flying laps, but there were few improvements in the field
Nael rebounded from an earlier setback in the session to move himself up to P2. Taito Kato was another to find time, jumping up to eighth place, 0.274s off Slater’s earlier effort.
Into the final minute and there was plenty of scrapping for track position in the third sector as drivers fought to get one last run in, but nobody could find any more time on their well-worn Pirelli Hard tyres.
Slater ended up fastest ahead of Nael and Clerot, with Gladysz and Ernesto Rivera rounding out a top five that was covered by a quarter of a second.
Qualifying-
Freddie Slater earned his second Aramco Pole Position Award Pole Position Award, setting a 2:05.150 on his first attempt in a rain and Red Flag-affected session.
The Trident driver finished ahead of Tuukka Taponen, who earned P2 for MP Motorsport, while Hiyu Yamakoshi wound up third, although the Van Amersfoort Racing driver was involved in the session-ending Red Flag incident.
The session began with rain beginning to fall and drivers were desperate to get their times in early in case the intensity increased.
Louis Sharp was at the head of the field and delivered a 2:06.864, but he was bettered immediately by teammate James Wharton.
Pedro Clerot then went to the top until Yamakoshi went quicker still. Taponen beat the Japanese driver by 0.088s to take provisional top spot.
But Slater went quickest overall on a 2:05.150, a quarter of a second ahead than the Finn in P2 with everyone’s first laptimes on the board.
Drivers pushed on immediately for a second attempt as the rain increased, with Fionn McLaughlin informed over team radio that heavy rain was five minutes away.
Noah Stromsted went up to fourth on his second lap ahead of Ernesto Rivera in fifth with 22 minutes to go.
Drivers then backed off to prepare for another flying lap which kickstarted the battle for track position, with everyone eager for a slipstream to avoid leading the field from the very front.
Some drivers opted to pit at the end of the lap while those that continued and opened a third attempt found that track conditions had deteriorated enough to prevent any improvements. They all boxed at the end of the lap with 17 minutes left of the session.
Cars re-emerged from the pitlane with just under half of the session remaining and with several drivers in search of an improvement. Championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu sat ninth as his closest rival in the Standings retained provisional pole.
There was more battling for track position heading into the final 10 minutes but this time, several cars made contact. Stromsted collided with Yevan David, who tagged Jose Garfias, while Yamakoshi was involved.
It caused a Red Flag with 9:38 left on the clock with the Trident, AIX Racing and Van Amersfoort Racing cars needing to be cleared away.
With the rain increasing, the session was not resumed. It left Slater on top ahead of Taponen and Yamakoshi.
Jordan's Track Talk 
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