Belgium Race Reaction
Image: @McLarenF1 on Twitter
We’ve been very busy here at Race Reaction to try and bring you the best content we can - so if you somehow missed the Belgian Grand Prix, here’s our roundup!
We’re entering the Summer break, where we sadly won’t have any racing for 4 whole weeks, so we thought we’d treat you all to a bumper edition of a Race Reaction to tide you over until Zandvoort in two weeks’ time - buckle up!
Wet conditions and chaos go hand in hand in Formula One - Spa Francorchamps once again lived up to its reputation for a spot of rain and some interesting qualifying results.
As was to be expected, Verstappen topped the table in qualifying, having bested his childhood friend Charles Leclerc by a whopping 0.8s.
As for the Sprint Race, we saw a first-time race leader, pit stop madness and some new faces on the podium.
When Sunday rolled around, Driver No. 1 put his RB19 from P6 at race start to P1 with a monstrous 22-second lead by the chequered flag.
Qualifying - Fri 28th July
Image: @ScuderiaFerrari on Twitter
Q1
The usual Belgian drizzle appeared above the just over 7 kilometre-long circuit as the day’s runnings began, meaning we’d see all the teams put their drivers out on Intermediate tyres. Recent podium-sitter Lando Norris was perhaps a bit too keen to rubber in the slippery track as he went way wide and found quite a bit of gravel at Turn 15. It looks like the McLaren Twitter admin knew this was going to happen:
As the track dried out towards the end of Q1, the returning Daniel Ricciardo had his lap time deleted whilst Alonso crossed the line to go second fastest from Leclerc. Alonso’s time was swiftly pushed down a few places by Verstappen, Hamilton and Sainz.
The Aussie’s lap was deleted for cutting across the left-side apex of the infamous Raidillon.
Some impressive performances shone through from the likes of Tsunoda and Bottas in P9 and P10 respectively as the first session came to a close - Williams star Alex Albon missed out on Q2 by just over two tenths of a second. Teammate Sargeant also struggled to make it out of the bottom five, so not a great day for the team overall.
The five drivers knocked out in Q1 were:
16th - Alexander Albon 23
17th - Zhou Guanyu 24
18th - Logan Sargeant 2
19th - Daniel Ricciardo 3
20th - Nico Hulkenberg 27
Q2
Things got off to an error-laden start yet again, this time with Esteban Ocon skating across the gravel and bumping the wall at Turn 11, more commonly known as the ‘No Name’ corner.
With front-wing damage, the Frenchman returned to the pits and sat out the rest of Q2 while his competitors set purple sectors - namely Piastri and Tsunoda, who traded fastest laps for a brief moment before the young Australian snatched pole.
As the flag fell, Sainz and Leclerc improved to take second and third place, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll put in a respectable P4 lap time.
Replays showed Magnussen catching some moisture on the tarmac at the same place Ocon did the session prior, elegantly spinning 90 degrees anticlockwise before straightening back up for the upcoming Pouhon corner. His rear end snagged the sponsor boards, lucky not to receive some rear-wing or tyre damage.
The big shock almost came when Verstappen was looking like he wouldn’t make it into Q3, sitting in the bottom 5. A last-ditch effort just about scraped him through, setting the 10th fastest lap, only four tenths or so ahead of Yuki Tsunoda.
Due to Max’s unusually poor performance, we were treated to a fantastic interaction between the driver and race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase (lovingly nicknamed ‘GP’). Verstappen openly complained about the team not allowing him to push for two consecutive laps as per his wishes, thus landing him only in 10th. GP gave a witty and sarcastic response:
“And then when the track was two seconds quicker for your final lap and you didn’t have any energy left, how would that have gone down? … You tell me what you want to do in Q3 and we’ll do it, let me know - [tyre] sets, fuel, run plan.”
Radio conversations like this really put into perspective the great dynamic between these two - Max can’t perform at his best if GP can’t and vice-versa.
Out in Q2 then:
11th - Yuki Tsunoda 22
12th - Pierre Gasly 10
13th - Kevin Magnussen 20
14th - Valtteri Bottas 77
15th - Esteban Ocon 31
Q3
Ferrari made a quick advance to the top of the timing sheet as Charles Leclerc set the fastest lap, followed by teammate Carlos Sainz to make it a rosso-corsa one-two, with Verstappen nowhere to be seen.
The Dutchman took no time in demolishing Leclerc’s 1:46.988 by over eight-tenths of a second, setting three purple sectors in the process.
Pérez and Hamilton would go on to split the Ferraris, however with Verstappen receiving a 5-place grid penalty for a new gearbox, previous Belgian GP winner Charles Leclerc would start Sunday’s race from pole position.
Seemingly being on the opposite trajectory to McLaren this year so far, Aston Martin just about made it into the top 10 - Alonso P9 and Stroll P10. They’ll be hoping for some serious upgrades and motivation for the second half of the season if they want a return to form.
Verstappen apologised to GP over the radio on his cooldown lap:
“Well, at least we had a good Q3 … and sorry GP for being so on the rant.”
Lambiase calmly replied:
“Slowly getting used to it Max.”
Final Qualifying Results
With all that out of the way, here’s the starting order for the Belgian Grand Prix:
1 - Max Verstappen 1 (5-place grid penalty for new gearbox)
2 - Charles Leclerc 16
3 - Sergio Pérez 11
4 - Lewis Hamilton 44
5 - Carlos Sainz 55
6 - Oscar Piastri 81
7 - Lando Norris 4
8 - George Russell 63
9 - Fernando Alonso 14
10 - Lance Stroll 18
11 - Yuki Tsunoda 22
12 - Pierre Gasly 10
13 - Kevin Magnussen 20 (3-place grid penalty for impeding another driver)
14 - Valtteri Bottas 77
15 - Esteban Ocon 31
16 - Alexander Albon 23
17 - Zhou Guanyu 24
18 - Logan Sargeant 2
19 - Daniel Ricciardo 3
20 - Nico Hulkenberg 27
Sprint Shootout - Sat 29th July
Image: @redbullracing on Twitter
SQ1
Another qualifying session plagued by mixed and changing track conditions caused by rain! Skies were blue and clear, but the track surface required Intermediate tyres once again to get the most out of a lap.
Verstappen hit the ground running with the fastest lap, followed by the most experienced man on the grid, Fernando Alonso - evidently comfortable with his AMR23. Old McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton bested him by a tenth to claim P2 shortly afterwards.
Young gun Lando Norris looked to be in trouble for a brief moment, sitting all the way down in P17, however a decent lap placed him a handy P12. Elsewhere on the grid, the Williams boys were having a brilliant SQ1, with Albon sat P4 and Sargeant P9 - a marked difference to their results the day before.
Here are the five that couldn’t make it to SQ2:
16th - Yuki Tsunoda 22
17th - Valtteri Bottas 77
18th - Kevin Magnussen 20
19th - Zhou Guanyu 24
20th - Nico Hulkenberg 27
SQ2
This session wasn’t an amazingly eventful one; Lance Stroll made a huge gamble to run on Medium tyres on the then wet track and consequently lost control, whacking the barrier square-on at No Name corner and causing a red flag with terminal damage.
Image: Formula One
The session ended with 30 seconds remaining, meaning the bottom five drivers either didn’t set a lap or, in Fernando’s case, had their out lap interrupted.
Out for SQ3 were:
11th - Daniel Ricciardo 3
12th - Alexander Albon 23
13th - Logan Sargeant 2
14th - Lance Stroll 18
15th - Fernando Alonso 14
SQ3
The track now dry and everyone being on Soft compound tyres, it was time to see each driver’s real pace. Leclerc once again drove a fastest lap, followed by Sainz. Hamilton and Norris were setting purple sectors of their own while Norris took P1 from the Monegasque.
The top spot would be fought over by Hamilton, Verstappen, Pérez, Leclerc, Gasly, Piastri, Norris and Sainz in the dying moments - we were biting our nails like mad!
Eventually, Verstappen beat Piastri to the post for pole by a mere 0.011s, much to the delight of the Orange Army in the grandstands and the Red Bull team.
Oscar made sure to demonstrate to the team how close he was to pole:
Image: @McLarenF1 on Twitter
Final Sprint Shootout Results
So, with the second full qualifying of the weekend so far over, how did the grid shape up for Saturday’s Sprint Race? See below:
1 - Max Verstappen 1
2 - Oscar Piastri 81
3 - Carlos Sainz 55
4 - Charles Leclerc 16
5 - Lando Norris 4
6 - Pierre Gasly 10
7 - Lewis Hamilton 44
8 - Sergio Pérez 11
9 - Esteban Ocon 31
10 - George Russell 63
11 - Daniel Ricciardo 3
12 - Alexander Albon 23
13 - Logan Sargeant 2
14 - Lance Stroll 18
15 - Fernando Alonso 14
16 - Yuki Tsunoda 22
17 - Valtteri Bottas 77
18 - Kevin Magnussen
19 - Zhou Guanyu 24
DNF - Nico Hulkenberg 27
Sprint Race - Sat 29th July
Image: @AlpineF1Team on Twitter
Wet conditions threatened the track yet again, meaning the formation lap would be carried out under the Safety Car to kick things off for Saturday.
As the lap came to a close, half the grid dove into the pit lane to take off their full Wet tyres in exchange for slightly grippier Intermediates - frontrunners Verstappen, Leclerc and Norris took a chance on staying out for one lap before coming in.
This gave Piastri in P11 (net P1 after pit stops) his first lap in the lead of a Formula One race - a proud moment for the rookie and nigh unimaginable for the team just a year ago.
There would be a handful of unsafe releases in the pits as teams scurried to get their drivers out and ahead as quickly as possible, which brings into question whether or not there should be a re-think in how pit releases are governed over and executed. Do you think this is a procedure that needs changing?
On lap 3, we saw a comically sudden and unexpected cut to a shot of Fernando Alonso uncharacteristically beached in the gravel of Pouhon’s runoff. Watching the onboard back, he appears to have dropped it all by himself by taking too much kerb while the track was still wet. Aston Martin’s Twitter admin called the Sprint Saturday “A day to forget”.
Once the yellow flag for Alonso’s incident had been cleared, it was a cat and mouse game at the Bus Stop Chicane for Verstappen and Piastri, with Pérez also chasing Gasly behind.
Image: Formula One
As the two leading drivers barreled towards the Eau Rouge-Raidillon complex, Verstappen kept his foot planted, despite slippery conditions and cold tyres, to make a charge on Piastri on the Kemmel Straight. As is tradition with the RB19, Max was able to breeze past without resistance to reclaim the lead.
Things got a bit dicey between Hamilton and Pérez as the Brit attempted a move up the inside going into Stavelot, which - in suboptimal surface conditions - caused understeer-induced contact. As a result, the right side of Pérez’s car (right about where the ‘A’ in ‘Oracle’ is) had a sizeable hole punched into it, leaving the Mexican to be overtaken by Hamilton and, subsequently, Sainz at Eau Rouge. Lewis earned himself a 5-second penalty for this incident.
With every F1 car being designed and aerodynamically tested to the millimetre, damage like that can severely affect the car’s ability to turn and pierce through the air ahead of it.
Norris found himself a bargain as Pérez slid off the track and onto the gravel at Turn 16, giving the McLaren driver (and a handful of others behind) a free position.
Max eventually came across the line on lap 11 to claim victory, with only a 6.3s gap to Piastri in P2, who led Pierre Gasly in P3.
Hamilton finished fourth, but fell down to seventh with his penalty applied, granting Carlos Sainz the first non-podium spot.
Final Sprint Race Results
With only Sunday’s full-fat GP left to go, here’s how the drivers stacked up in the Sprint Race:
1 - Max Verstappen 1
2 - Oscar Piastri 81
3 - Pierre Gasly 10
4 - Carlos Sainz 55
5 - Charles Leclerc 16
6 - Lando Norris 4
7 - Lewis Hamilton 44
8 - George Russell 63
9 - Esteban Ocon 31
10 - Daniel Ricciardo 3
11 - Lance Stroll 18
12 - Alexander Albon 23
13 - Valtteri Bottas 77
14 - Kevin Magnussen 20
15 - Zhou Guanyu 24
16 - Logan Sargeant 2
17 - Nico Hulkenberg 27
18 - Yuki Tsunoda 22
DNF - Sergio Pérez 11
DNF - Fernando Alonso 14
Grand Prix - Sun 30th July
The weekend, as it always does, came down to this, as Charles Leclerc lined up in the first grid spot - hoping surely to put one hand on the winner’s trophy as he did in 2019.
The lights went out and the man from Monaco maintained the lead into Turn 1, followed closely by Sergio Pérez, keen to redeem himself, and Lewis Hamilton. Slightly further behind, Oscar Piastri found himself squeezed ever so tight against the barrier of the right-hander; he had a cheeky look up the inside of Carlos Sainz who, eager to get back to the racing line after a small lock-up, veered to the right and left the Aussie with no room.
Image: Formula One
Piastri bumped the wall enough to have his front-right tyre kink inwards if only for a moment, however this ended in retirement for the young driver due to (presumably) terminal steering/suspension damage.
“He just turned in like I didn’t exist”
Sainz was also unable to continue due to huge aerodynamic disadvantage caused by the contact.
Many questioned Piastri’s decision to hold ground and go for a lunge - what do you think?
Pérez had managed to take the lead from Leclerc by lap 4, whilst Albon and Alonso made tidy overtakes on the Kemmel Straight. Being a power track (i.e. a circuit at which high top-speeds are advantageous rather than high downforce), Williams were sure to perform well here.
Lance Stroll made a risky divebomb on Norris at the Bus Stop Chicane, which paid off well for the Canadian as he cooked it to perfection, making no contact with Albon just ahead. Lando was somewhat swallowed up in the early stage of the race, with Russell making a move up the inside at Turn 1, just after Stroll.
Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda was taking no prisoners, executing a smooth around-the-outside overtake on Sainz in the hard braking zone at the end of the Kemmel Straight, moving up to P6 - a position an AT really shouldn’t be in this year in particular.
The team seemed calmly impressed!
Alex Albon made a tidy move on the struggling and damage-laden Sainz as McLaren pitted Norris for fresh Hard tyres from Mediums on lap 6.
Sticking with pit stops, Ricciardo had a blazingly fast one of 2.3 seconds, some very impressive stuff from the soon to be renamed Alpha Tauri team.
Verstappen made easy work of Leclerc and Hamilton as he set his sights on teammate Pérez for the lead. Meanwhile, Albon again made up a position on Tsunoda for P10, although he’d find himself higher up after the top 4 came into the pits to swap out their now fading Soft compound tyres.
Turn 5 treated the AT boys well on Sunday - Ricciardo pulled off an identical overtake to his current teammate on his former teammate Lando Norris on lap 10.
Seven tours of the track later, Max opened up the DRS to storm past his teammate for the race lead. Too easy for the Netherlands’ hero! He had a bit of a moment coming up Eau Rouge - drizzle had started to come down as spectators’ umbrellas went up and Max (on Mediums) had a brief snap and breaking of traction heading up the hill, masterfully catching the car and continuing on, but not without some signature profanity:
“**** **** I almost lost it”
