Belgium – Qualifying: Lewis Hamilton dances in the rain, Esteban Ocon 3rd
Lewis Hamilton was able to secure a new pole position as the rain fell on Spa during Q3. He is ahead of Sebastian Vettel and notably the Frenchman from Force India, Esteban Ocon.
For this 12th qualifying session of the season, the sun decided to make an appearance over the Ardennes, but the temperature was far from summery as a mere 14°C was shown on the FIA’s official thermometer.
During Q1, it was Kimi Räikkönen who was the fastest, with an impressive time of 1:42.585, nearly matching the pole position time set last year by Lewis Hamilton. This allowed him to push his teammate back by five-tenths and Lewis Hamilton by nearly a second. The British driver then decided to make a second stint, which allowed him to climb back to second position. Ferrari and Mercedes were the only teams to use the soft tires while all the other teams opted directly for the super softs. At the very end of the session, Valtteri Bottas, who will start from the back of the grid due to his engine change, posted the second-fastest time of the session on super softs.
Behind, the two Williams were able to improve on their last attempt but could not do better than 18th and 19th, finishing only ahead of the local favorite, Stoffel Vandoorne. The big surprise of this Q1 is the early elimination of Carlos Sainz, who could not do better than 16th due to a lack of rear grip.
On the other hand, Sauber confirms its good form, placing its two drivers, Charles Leclerc (8th) and Marcus Ericsson (10th), in the top 10 while both Force India cars were able to qualify comfortably with just one attempt.
The drivers eliminated from Q1 are: Sainz, Alonso, Sirotkin, Stroll, Vandoorne.
From the start of Q2, Kimi Räikkönen continued his momentum, breaking the track record with a time of 1:41.627, surpassing the record set by the non-homologated Porsche 919 Evo earlier in the year! But Sebastian Vettel manages to do even better, by a mere 32 thousandths.
#Seb5 sets a new record 1:41.501 P1 #Kimi7 1:41.533 P2 #BelgianGP #Quali #Q2
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) August 25, 2018
During his last attempt, Brendon Hartley lost the rear of his Toro Rosso while braking at the Source, resulting in a spin. The Kiwi is therefore eliminated, finishing 12th just behind his teammate Pierre Gasly. Gasly was eliminated in the last moments of the session by a Valtteri Bottas who didn’t actually need to go out since he knows he’ll start in 19th position.
On the other hand, Nico Hülkenberg, also affected by penalties, wisely chose to remain at the back of his garage during this session.
The drivers eliminated in Q2 are: Gasly, Hartley, Leclerc, Ericsson, and Hülkenberg.
Just at the moment of transition between Q2 and Q3, a light rain fell on the pit straight, justifying the 90% chance of rain mentioned by race control at the beginning of the session.
As a result, all the drivers attempt a first lap on slicks. But Valtteri Bottas spins at the exit of Blanchimont, which convinces everyone to return to the pits. Everyone except the Force India team, who are going all out.
But their gamble does not work. Max Verstappen thinks he has done the hardest part, but the two Ferraris are once again able to maintain the lead, even in these tricky conditions. In the final moments of the session, the track starts to dry again. Lewis Hamilton then finds a way to set a faster time on his very last lap. This allows him to secure a new pole position despite having been outperformed throughout the weekend.
But the big sensation is Esteban Ocon is able to secure the third fastest time, just ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez. Very nice session also for Romain Grosjean, who ranks 5th while Kimi Räikkönen came back too early and wasn’t able to make another attempt.
From our special correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps
