Max Verstappen threw the gauntlet down at the Belgian GP qualifying, setting the fastest time by about six-tenths of a second. While it sets a high benchmark for Red Bull’s pace around Spa-Francorchamps, Verstappen will have to harness that pace from P11 on the grid, due to his 10-place grid penalty. However, Lewis Hamilton did not think of it and was surprised to know that he was starting one place higher on Sunday.
In the post-qualifying interview, when the interviewer told Hamilton that he would start P3 due to Verstappen‘s penalty, the seven-time champion responded, “P3 tomorrow? Oh yeah, I hadn’t thought about his penalty“.
‼️Sir Lewis Hamilton’s post qualifying interview with F1TV :
“…yeah max will make his way through pretty quick, i think their car is the quickest here this weekend..or atleast tied with mclaren…”#F1 || #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/pSXT37bbXA
— sim (@sim3744) July 27, 2024
Besides Hamilton, everyone in the top 10 will move up a place as Charles Leclerc will take pole position with Sergio Perez for his company on the front row. Meanwhile, Hamilton will have Lando Norris starting beside him in fourth.
But, when asked about Verstappen’s potential in the Grand Prix, the Briton said, “Yeah, Max will make his way through pretty quick, I think their car is the fastest here this weekend.. or at least tied with McLaren”.
However, Hamilton is focusing on the cars ahead of him and aiming to secure a podium at least, if not the win. With both McLarens starting behind him too, the #44 driver has a golden chance to challenge for the lead. Still, he would be wary of the charging McLarens and Verstappen, who have been quicker all weekend, coming from behind.
Mercedes has not been able to show their pace from Silverstone and thus, Hamilton may also be a sitting duck, if his car is not quick enough on Sunday. Still, what might be encouraging for the seven-time champion is that Red Bull’s setup may not yield them enough pace in dry conditions in the Grand Prix.
Verstappen has a tough race on hand in Belgium
With the wet weather in mind for qualifying, Red Bull opted to have a slightly higher downforce setup on their cars. This benefitted them in the wet track conditions and helped Verstappen and Sergio Perez qualify in the top three. However, they may lack some straight-line speed coming to Sunday’s race.
Meanwhile, McLaren has gone for a lower wing level that sets them perfectly for the top speed-sensitive first and third sectors at Spa-Francorchamps, where the majority of the overtaking happens. So, Verstappen will have to scythe through the field with that disadvantage on the RB20 relative to the McLarens.
After qualifying, he acknowledged that the dry conditions forecast on Sunday could also play against them. The Dutchman said, “Tomorrow I know it’s going to be quite a different day. It’s going to be warmer, normally no rain, so it’s all about tire degradation and we just need to make sure we’re good on that”.
“Shall we call that a pole, kind of?!”
Max was fastest and by some distance #F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/BLY2t7eHUB
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 27, 2024
While Spa-Francorchamps has had one-stop races in the past, Pirelli is predicting a two-stop race this time around. That is because of the new track surface causing more graining on the C3 (medium) and C4 (soft) compounds.
Besides, rain drenching the track during qualifying has also washed all the rubber laid down. Thus, the track will be green and prone to more tire degradation. So, Red Bull will have to be accurate with their tire strategy, unlike their blunders last weekend in Hungary.
