2014 Belgian GP – The Grid: Mercedes locks out the front row, Ferrari in the race for the podium

After the qualifying session that took place on Saturday, the editorial team offers you a recap of the starting grid, which you can read the summary on Motorsinside.com.

For once, there are no penalties to report.

The tires

With a qualifying session held in the rain and a race presumably on a dry track, all the drivers will have the choice of strategy to start this race.

Pirelli predicts that a two-stop strategy will be the most likely, with a start on soft tires, then a stop for re-fitting softs around the 15th lap, and finally, a last stint on mediums starting at the 29th lap. The Italian manufacturer adds that one or three-stop strategies are theoretically possible, but they are not the fastest approach.

The forces at play

During the qualifiers, Mercedes crushed the competition on a wet track, relegating Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull to more than two seconds behind. On a dry track, it’s hard to see who could challenge the Silver Arrows, except for the reliability of the W05 Hybrids themselves.

For the podium, Fernando Alonso and his Ferrari seem to be in a position to take advantage over the surrounding Red Bulls. Williams could benefit from the return to a dry track to raise their ambitions on a circuit that seems to suit the Williams FW36.