Norris crashes heavily at Eau Rouge in Belgian Grand Prix qualifying

Lando Norris suffered a heavy crash out of Eau Rouge in Q3 for the Belgian Grand Prix as heavy rain fell at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

The McLaren driver had been fastest on intermediate tyres in both Q1 and Q2 and looked on course to challenge for pole position.

Ahead of the final session, heavy rain fell to force a switch to extreme wet tyres and on the opening out laps of the session, Norris complained of aquaplaning.

Emerging out of the compression through Eau Rouge, Norris lost the rear of his car as he powered up the hill towards Raidillon.

The Briton then ploughed into a tyre wall to his left, bouncing off and sending him into a number of pirouettes back across the track before finally coming to rest at Raidillon.

After an anxious few moments, Norris told his team over the radio: "Sorry, I let you down."

Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel had called for the session to be red-flagged moments beforehand due to the amount of water on the track.

Vettel, who was animated on the team radio after being told the session had been halted due to the incident, pulled over to ensure Norris was okay.

The German said: "What the f**k did I say? What did I say? Unnecessary! Is he okay?"

The incident was a direct copy of the incident in W Series yesterday as cars slid off at Eau Rouge as rain fell.

The corner has come under fire for safety concerns in recent times given the severe nature of incidents at the section in the last two years.

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