Belgian Grand Prix: Prospects for the Race
Behind Lewis Hamilton, the battle will be tight: an overview of the trends for the first of these three consecutive Grand Prix races between Belgium and Italy. The race will start this Sunday at 3:10 PM on the demanding Spa-Francorchamps track!
The qualifying session, held on a dry track, delivered its verdict.
No surprise, this Saturday afternoon, Lewis Hamilton went on to claim a well-deserved 94th pole position.
Will the Mercedes be just as dominant in the race?
Behind the British driver, the gaps are tighter. And even though Valtteri Bottas allows Mercedes to lock out the front row once again, it was a close call for Max Verstappen to disrupt the plans of the star brand.
Galvanized by his second place in the championship, the Dutch driver hopes to quickly gain the upper hand over the Finnish driver and thus directly compete with his rival for the title.
Will the weather play spoilsport?
According to the weather forecast, the sky is expected to become overcast from early afternoon. Therefore, we will probably have some showers over the Belgian Ardennes. This will certainly spice up the race and allow everyone to play their hand.
Some teams, like McLaren, have chosen to play the dry track card, notably prioritizing the qualifications.
A strategic gamble that might pay off? Or not…
Big fight expected in the peloton:
The gaps are very narrow between the “mid-table” teams. We will surely witness some great maneuvers throughout the race. Even though it is certain that Racing Point benefits from a successful and very fast car, other teams will be keen to prove that it’s not necessary to duplicate a concept to be competitive. Starting with Renault, which performed particularly well in qualifying with Daniel Ricciardo in 4th and Esteban Ocon in 6th.
McLaren and AlphaTauri will not be left behind, we observed in free practice that their race pace is competitive.
The Spanish driver Carlos Sainz Jr. confirms that there should be a show on the track tomorrow within this pack.
« I am surprised to be ahead of the Racing Point. All the cars in front of us are faster both in qualifying and in race pace. The Renaults have made great progress and are about three-tenths faster than us »
Beyond the disappointment, is there concern in the Ferrari camp?
Lagging behind in free practice, Ferrari has been concerning since the start of the season. It’s even worse this weekend in Belgium where the performance is disastrous.
Sebastian Vettel will thus finish the third free practice session at the very bottom. Charles Leclerc will barely make it to Q2, almost being eliminated by the “king of Spa,” Kimi Räikkönen, by 8 hundredths!
It is safe to say that Ferrari has no room for maneuver this Sunday, and they will need to seize every opportunity to hope to reach the finish with some points. Leclerc and Vettel starting from 13th and 14th places respectively, the task will be arduous.
Beyond the Ferrari team, all teams equipped with the Italian engine are floundering at the back of the grid. It is urgent to react!
