Engineers may enjoy tweaking the numbers that make their cars go faster, but Formula 1 endured more tortuous and decidedly unwieldy calculations to decide the grid for the Belgian Grand Prix. The only figure that matters and is singularly ominous for the world championship was Max Verstappen’s lead over the rest of the field.
He set a lap that deserved pole position, but as one of a full third of the grid besieged by penalties, it was Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr, who finished second, who took first place.
As fans sat in the cold mountain air at Spa-Francorchamps doing the mental math, Mercedes were left with some underwhelming numbers, leaving Lewis Hamilton desperate for a car he said couldn’t wait to see the back.
For the record, Verstappen had a great lap with a time of 1min 43.665sec, six tenths ahead of Sainz in second place. However, Red Bull had fitted a new power unit to the Dutchman’s car, beyond its allocation, resulting in a penalty from the back of the grid. With six other drivers taking similar penalties, Verstappen will start 15th.
The musical chairs continued from top to bottom on the grid, with only two drivers leaving within two places of their final position in the standings. Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez was third (second on the grid), Alpine’s Fernando Alonso sixth (up to third), while Verstappen’s title rival Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth but, after ‘have also picked up a new power unit, it will be out in 16th.
Mercedes had been optimistic about the weekend, but was very disappointed. Hopes were high for the first race since F1’s summer break after George Russell took pole and his two drivers a double podium at the last round in Hungary.
However, Hamilton, who didn’t miss out here with six poles and four wins, was seventh, almost two seconds behind Verstappen and Russell, eighth (promoted to what they know is an undeserved fourth and fifth on the grid). The seven-time world champion was blunt in his disappointment and frustration.
“We came here very, very optimistic, we could be close to half a second, who knows? To be 1.8 seconds behind, it’s a real kick in the teeth,” he said.
“It’s a car we’re still fighting with and I’m definitely not going to lose it at the end of the year. For me, it’s just about focusing on how we build and design next year’s car.
“The other two teams in front of us are in another league and our car looks very different to theirs.”
Carlos Sainz Jr. en route to second qualifying and pole position on Sunday’s grid. Photograph: Lars Baron/Formula 1/Getty Images
Team principal Toto Wolff was equally blunt, describing it as his “worst qualifying session in 10 years”.
There are nine races left in 12 weeks and they look set to be a positively grueling affair, with Mercedes’ performance looking as unreadable now as it did at the Bahrain opener. Hamilton’s record of having won in every F1 season he has competed in appears to be under threat.
Not least because the real optimism after the summer will be in the Red Bull camp. Fears that FIA rules to curb the bounce that has affected the entire grid could adversely affect the team appear to have been unfounded – Verstappen’s pace was fearsome here.
He powered his way from 10th to victory in Hungary and both Russell and Sainz said they believed he was in a position to do the same on Sunday. The Dutchman has little confidence in his ability to do so.
The pressure is really on Leclerc. He trails Verstappen by 80 points and cannot afford to drop further if he is to keep his slim title hopes alive. He and Ferrari cannot afford any mistakes on Sunday, when even hanging on to the Dutchman could prove an onerous task.
However, it is one that should at least be entertaining. For all that the penalty system presents an ultimately unsatisfying qualifying matchup, it has provided a confusing grid that means the numbers should add up to some exciting racing.
McLaren’s Lando Norris, Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Haas’ Mick Schumacher also have the same penalties as Verstappen and Leclerc, moving them to the back of the grid to take on new drive unit components. power beyond its allocation.
Williams’ Alex Albon took ninth to move up to sixth on the grid. Ocon was fifth for Alpine and will start 17th and McLaren’s Lando Norris 10th to start 18th.
Quick Guide
How do I sign up for breaking sports news alerts?
show
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store for iPhones or the Google Play Store for Android phones by searching for “The Guardian”.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you have the latest version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the yellow button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sports notifications.
Thanks for your comments.
Daniel Ricciardo was 11th for McLaren, but will start seventh. Pierre Gasly finished 12th for AlphaTauri and will start eighth, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll 14th but starting ninth. Zhou was 13th and will be 19th, with Schumacher 15th but moving up to 20th.
Valtteri Bottas was 20th but will start 14th. He also had a penalty, but none that moved him to the back of the grid and allowed him to get ahead of the other penalized drivers.
Sebastian Vettel was 16th for Aston Martin and Nicholas Latifi 17th for Williams. Kevin Magnussen was 18th for Haas and Yuki Tsunoda 19th for AlphaTauri. They will all go up six places.