McLaren’s purple patch has seemingly come to an end at the Belgian GP. Just a week after registering the best result of the season with a 1-2 finish in Hungary, the Woking team is struggling for pace. As a result, Lando Norris has only managed a P5 in qualifying while his teammate Oscar Piastri qualified P6.
The McLaren duo, however, has got a slight boost owing to Max Verstappen’s 10-place grid penalty. Verstappen, who bagged the pole position, will start the race in P11 owing to a change of power unit. That puts Norris and Piastri in P4 and P5 respectively on the starting grid.
The loss of pace does not bother the Briton, though. He admitted Red Bull are quicker on the Spa Francorchamps circuit but they perhaps hid their true pace until qualifying. Norris is counting on drier conditions for Sunday to get the better of the cars ahead of him. The comment hints at Red Bull’s pace owing much to the wet track.
Speaking with Sky Sports F1 after qualifying, he said, “I’m actually pretty happy. We were good yesterday. I think the whole weekend the Red Bulls have been a step above us. Even though we were a little bit quicker yesterday, I just don’t think Red Bull showed their cards at all, and we did. What we did yesterday was pretty much all we’ve got”.
The starting grid for Sunday’s race at Spa #F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/PBNMdcimxC
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 27, 2024
McLaren were running a lower downforce setup on their cars which made them slower in wet conditions. However, the weather forecast predicts a dry race on Sunday which should play into the Woking-based squad’s hands. Norris is counting on this same lower downforce setting to help him get the better of cars ahead.
The challenges standing in Norris’ way to victory at Spa
Norris has got Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez, and Charles Leclerc starting ahead of him. While those are the drivers he needs to pass for a victory, he also needs to be wary of the threat from his own teammate breathing down his neck.
Verstappen, who will start from P11, will also look to scythe through the field as the race progresses. The Dutchman won the 2022 Belgian GP from P14 on the grid due to a similar engine penalty, and also won last year’s race at Spa from P6. Therefore, no expert is ruling out a win for the reigning champion.
Speaking after qualifying, Verstappen did not rule out the possibility of taking the fight to Ferrari and Mercedes. In McLaren’s case, though, he only hopes to have enough pace in dry conditions to mount an attack from behind.
