There’s really only been one big piece of news in the three week break since Silverstone, and it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person: Christian Horner got the boot from Red Bull! [BBC]
The weather forecast looks pretty damp!
Belgium is one of the Sprint format weekends (along with China, Miami, Austin, Brazil, and Qatar).
Sprint Qualifying
Sprint Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
Red Bull mechanics working on the rear brakes on VER’s caar
Sauber release HUL right in front of LAW – that’ll probably be a penalty for the team
HAD 1:42.711
ANT ran wide, spun into the gravel, kicked up some dust but recovered
RUS 1:42.650
NOR 1:42.068
PIA 1:41.768
3mins left; bottom 5 are HAM, GAS, COL, ANT, BEA
Chequered flag
GAS P14, ALB to P16
HAM spins in the bus stop chicane!
Back of the grid: ALB, HUL, HAM, COL, ANT
Sprint Qualifying session 2
NOR 1:42.182
PIA 1:41.736 … but his time is deleted for exceeding track limits
3mins left; NOR’s time is the only one on the board but everyone is now on track
VER 1:31.583
Chequered flag; still half the grid have yet to set a time
NOR is bumped down to P11 but then goes P1, 1:41.412
Middle of the grid: LAW, TSU, RUS, ALO, STR
Sprint Qualifying session 3
Lights are green but they’re letting the clock tick down – looks like it’ll just be one flying lap
NOR 1:41.128
VER 1:40.987
PIA 1:40.510
LEC P4
SAI P5
OCO P5
BEA P7
GAS P8
BOR P9
HAD P9
Front of the grid: PIA, VER, NOR, LEC, OCO, SAI, BEA, GAS, HAD, BOR
Provisional grid: PIA, VER, NOR, LEC, OCO, SAI, BEA, GAS, HAD, BOR, LAW, TSU, RUS, ALO, STR, ALB, HUL, HAM, COL, ANT
Penalties:
TSU and RUS were given a reprimand for “driving unnecessarily slowly”
Sprint Race
COL will start from the pit lane following a rear wing change
GAS’ Alpine has a suspected water leak and he won’t be able to start
Sprint grid: PIA, VER, NOR, LEC, OCO, SAI, BEA, HAD, BOR, LAW, TSU, RUS, ALO, STR, ALB, HUL, HAM, ANT; COL in pit lane
PIA leads everyone away on the formation lap
Everyone on medium compound tyres except COL on softs
PIA’s already in Eau Rouge and the tail enders haven’t left the grid yet
GAS seems to be getting ready, so maybe Alpine have fixed the leak and will send him out for a few test laps
Grid forms up with just 18 cars
01/15: PIA leads through Turn 1
VER around the outside to take P1
LEC takes P3 from NOR
02: VER, PIA, LEC, NOR, OCO, SAI, BEA, HAD, BOR, LAW, TSU, RUS, STR, ALO, ALB, HUL, HAM, ANT, COL
03: GAS has left the pits
PIA has DRS behind VER
04: NOR reclaims P3 from LEC
05/15: VER, PIA, NOR, LEC, OCO, SAI, BEA, HAD, BOR, LAW, TSU, RUS, STR, ALO, ALB, HUL, HAM, ANT, COL, GAS
ANT takes P17 from HUL
PIA dips his rear-left wheel into a gravel trap but keeps his foot down
06: PIA still has DRS behind VER
NOR is closing on the front duo
BEA (P7) has a DRS train forming behind him; same with TSU (P11)
07: ANT thinking about making a move on HAM
Radio from HAM, “I’ve got no rear (grip) already!”
08: NOR should have DRS behind PIA in a lap or two
09: HAM checking his mirrors as ANT gets closer
10/15: VER, PIA, NOR, LEC, OCO, SAI, BEA, HAD, BOR, LAW, TSU, RUS, STR, ALO, ALB, HAM, ANT, HUL, COL, GAS
NOR has DRS to help close on his teammate
11: Radio from VER, “I can’t brake! On the peak!”
12: Radio for NOR telling him PIA’s “battery is mid-level”
13: PIA’s fallen back from VER a fraction but still has DRS
ALB is all over ALO’s rear wing
14: PIA too far back to attack VER
15/15: VER, PIA, NOR, LEC, OCO, SAI, BEA, HAD, BOR, LAW, TSU, RUS, STR, ALO, ALB, HAM, ANT, HUL, COL, GAS
HAM takes P15 from ALB
VER takes the chequered flag
Provisional result: VER, PIA, NOR, LEC, OCO, SAI, BEA, HAD; BOR, LAW, TSU, RUS, STR, ALO, HAM, ALB, ANT, HUL, COL, GAS
(Reminder: points only down to P8 for the Sprint)
Qualifying
Interesting to see that some teams have put on more rear wing in anticipation of rain during tomorrow’s race
Air temperature 22°C; track 37°C; humidity 55%
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
BEA released right in front of ALO; Aston Martin make a big deal of it, hoping for a penalty for BEA
HUL tries to push his way into the pit lane but STR drives over HUL’s front wing, breaking it
HUL is pulled back for a new nose cone
STR exits the pit lane but he’s told to abort his lap and return to the pits
HUL/STR incident will be investigated after the session
NOR 1:42.076
PIA 1:41.998
LAW 1:41.765
Is that smoke from BEA’s Haas? Might have been a small lock up, or the plank grinding on the track
SAI 1:41.691
LEC 1:41.635
NOR 1:41.010
5mins left; bottom 5 are COL, RUS, STR, ANT, BOR
Everyone on track with 2mins left
ALO and STR fail to improve
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are HUL, ALO, OCO, STR, COL
HUL P12, relegating ANT to P16
OCO P13, GAS P16
GAS P11, HAM P16
HAM P7, BOR P11
COL P17
Back of the grid: BOR, COL, ANT, ALO, STR
No, HAM’s lap time was deleted for exceeding track limits, so HAM is P16 and BOR is through to Q2
Qualifying session 2
VER 1:40.951
PIA 1:40.626
(NOR P2)
BEA nearly lost it in Pouhon – good save, that was scary
Radio from LEC, doubting he can go any faster; he’s currently P4
4mins left; bottom 5 are HUL, BOR, GAS, SAI, BEA
LAW released right into the path of PIA
Only VER left in the pits
GAS P9, LAW P11
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are LAW, HUL, BOR, SAI, BEA
HUL P11
BOR P7, OCO P11
SAI P14
LAW P8, GAS P11
OCO P11
BEA P12
Middle of the grid: OCO, BEA, GAS, HUL, SAI
Top 10 shootout is between PIA, NOR, VER, LEC, TSU, RUS, HAD, LAW, BOR, ALB
Qualifying session 3
RUS 1:41.540
VER 1:41.078
LEC P2
TSU P4
PIA 1:40.751
NOR 1:10.562
LAW P7
HAD P8
BOR P9
ALB P8
BOR’s lap time is deleted
Order after the first run: NOR, PIA, VER, LEC, RUS, TSU, LAW, ALB, HAD, BOR
5mins left; track temp up to 40°C (up 3°C since the start of Q1)
Chequered flag
VER P3
HAD P4
NOR P1 but not faster
LEC P3
PIA P2
RUS P5
BOR P10
LAW P7
TSU P6
ALB P5
Front of the grid: NOR, PIA, LEC, VER, ALB, RUS, TSU, HAD, LAW, BOR
Provisional grid: NOR, PIA, LEC, VER, ALB, RUS, TSU, HAD, LAW, BOR, OCO, BEA, GAS, HUL, SAI, HAM, COL, ANT, ALO, STR
Penalties
Sauber was handed a reprimand for allowing HUL to (try to) push in to the pit lane; STR and Aston Martin received no penalty for driving over HUL’s front wing
Race
Pit lane is open; drivers can make their way to the grid
HAM, ANT, ALO and SAI will all start from the pit lane after changes were made to their cars during parc ferme
Red Bull have put an old power unit in VER’s car, so he won’t get a penalty
Air temperature 19°C; track 27°C; humidity 78% – it’s started raining again
Forecast is for heavy rain about the start of the race
Radio for PIA asking about the conditions; he reports it’s “patchy” with puddles in places
The rain is fairly hard and HAM is told it’ll continue like this until about 10mins into the race
I know some fans dislike starting a race behind the safety car, but seeing some on-board footage (especially the in-helmet camera) shows how poor the visibility can be – a few laps on wet tyres can create a dry line and help with safety
Grid: NOR, PIA, LEC, VER, ALB, RUS, TSU, HAD, LAW, BOR, OCO, BEA, GAS, HUL, COL, STR – just 16 cars on the grid
SAI, HAM, ANT, and ALO will all start from the pit lane
Air temperature has dropped to 17°C; track down to 24°C; humidity 88%
Race Control confirm the formation lap will be behind the Safety Car
SC and NOR lead everyone away on the formation lap
They’re all on intermediate tyres – no-one on full wets
Apparently the rain has almost stopped – well, paused because another shower is expected in about 15mins
Red flag – start has been suspended
Radio from NOR saying he can’t see much behind the SC, so it must be a lot worse for the rest of the drivers and it’ll be even worse at higher speeds
SC and all the cars enter the pit lane
Official weather radar shows another downpour but it should all pass after about 15mins
FIA have published a communication for when they’re running behind the SC: “The Stewards have determined that for the safe and orderly conduct of the event […] no penalty will be applied provided that the distance to the car in front does not exceed 20 car lengths.”
An hour after the scheduled start, the teams are taking down the canopies and the drivers are starting to get ready to get back in the cars
The medical car is on track, weaving its way around the road sweepers – it’s getting quite the cheer as it kicks up a lot of spray
Medical car takes up its position ready for when the grid forms up
Race control: race will resume at 16:20 local time
Race control: race will start behind the SC
Radio for ANT telling him there will be at least 2 laps behind the SC
Air temperature 17°C; track 26°C; humidity 85%
01/44[SC]: SC and NOR lead everyone out of the pit lane (It’s not a formation lap)
Radio for PIA asking about visibility; he says it’s better up Eau Rouge but pretty bad after that
02[SC]: Radio from HAM reporting “It’s drying pretty quick”
Despite the Stewards saying they can open a larger gap behind the SC, the front runners are quite bunched up
Radio from NOR, he’s spotted that the grid is wetter on one side than the other
03[SC]: There’s still a fair bit of spray but it’s looking like it’s ready to race
04[SC]: SC lights are off so it’ll come in at the end of this lap
Race control: rolling start
NOR eases off to let the SC get well ahead
05/44: NOR takes the green flag
NOR squirms out of Turn 1
PIA pulls alongside his teammate and takes P1 before the chicane
Radio from NOR asking “Why do I have no (battery) pack?”; he’s told it’s coming back and he used a lot at the start
06: PIA, NOR, LEC, VER, ALB, RUS, TSU, HAD, LAW, BOR, OCO, BEA, GAS, HUL, COL, SAI, STR, HAM, ANT, ALO
RUS inside ALB to take P5
LEC runs a little wide and VER is right on his tail
HAM past STR for P17
07: HAM inside SAI to steal P16
ANT brakes too late and has to cut the final chicane
08: HAM around COL for P15
SAI having a look at COL too
And now HAM takes P14 from HUL
09: HAM now closing on GAS
HAM takes P13, up 5 places from the start
10/44: PIA, NOR, LEC, VER, RUS, ALB, TSU, HAD, LAW, BOR, OCO, BEA, HAM, GAS, HUL, COL, SAI, ANT, STR, ALO
Radio from PIA suggesting he might want to switch to dry tyres soon
VER has a look around the outside of LEC but the Ferrari defends P3
ALO takes P19 from STR
11: LEC runs wide; VER nearly alongside but LEC leads into Eau Rouge
There’s no DRS enabled yet but VER has the slipstream to close on LEC
BEA takes P11 from Haas teammate OCO
Who will be first to make the brave move to dry tyres?
12: PIA almost 2sec ahead of NOR; if they decide to pit at the same time, NOR will have a long wait
HAM, GAS, HUL and ALO all pit; they all put on medium tyres
13: PIA pits; NOR stays out; LEC, VER, RUS, ALB, LAW, BOR, BEA all pit
DRS enabled
Only NOR, TSU, HAD and OCO are still on inters
14: NOR pits; hard tyre goes on; bit slow on the front-left; rejoins P2
TSU, HAD and OCO all pit
15/44: PIA, NOR, LEC, VER, RUS, ALB, HAM, LAW, HUL, BOR, GAS, TSU, ALO, BEA, COL, HAD, ANT, STR, SAI, OCO
16: Radio from VER complaining about clipping (running out of acceleration)
17: BEA takes P13 from ALO
Radio for NOR telling him PIA is also trying to go to the end but he might need tyre management to save his mediums
(Everyone is on medium tyres except NOR)
18: NOR just under 9sec behind PIA but slowly closing the gap
STR around HAD to take P17
19: Radio from BOR urging his team to tell HUL to pass LAW or to let him through
20/44: PIA, NOR, LEC, VER, RUS, ALB, HAM, LAW, HUL, BOR, GAS, TSU, BEA, ALO, COL, ANT, STR, SAI, HAD, OCO
Radio for HUL telling him to let teammate BOR through for P9
ANT takes P15 from COL
21: NOR under 8sec behind PIA
HAD pits from P19; hards go on; rejoins P20
STR on COL’s tail
22: Radio for PIA discussing whether he can get to the end; PIA says he can already feel degradation so he suspects he’ll need to stop
STR around COL to take P16
23: PIA’s picked up his pace so he’s trying to open the gap before pitting
Radio from SAI reporting “the mediums are degrading fast”
25/44: PIA, NOR, LEC, VER, RUS, ALB, HAM, LAW, BOR, HUL, GAS, TSU, BEA, ALO, ANT, STR, COL, SAI, OCO, HAD
26: PIA’s lead hovering around 8sec
NOR ran wide in Pouhon but recovered
27: BOR slowly closing on LAW but not close enough to attack; will HUL ask to swap back?
ANT sweeps inside ALO for P14
28: SAI has been given a final warning (black and white flag) for exceeding track limits; it’ll be a penalty next time
29: GAS has a DRS train behind him – TSU, BEA and ANT on his tail
COL pits from P18; new mediums; rejoins P19
30/44: PIA, NOR, LEC, VER, RUS, ALB, HAM, LAW, BOR, HUL
ALO pits from P15; mediums; P17
31: HAM closing on ALB
ANT pits from P14; mediums; P16
32: Radio for PIA telling him he’ll catch HAD (P20) in 4 laps; will he pit?
33: HUL pits from P10; mediums; P14
Radio for PIA saying they recommend going to the end on these mediums
34: HUL takes P14 from OCO
35/44: PIA, NOR, LEC, VER, RUS, ALB, HAM, LAW, BOR, GAS, TSU, BEA, STR, HUL, OCO, ANT, ALO, SAI, COL, HAD
36: ANT closes on OCO; ANT around the outside, takes P15, but OCO fights back and reclaims the place
37: PIA’s lead just under 7sec; NOR’s not closing quickly enough to put pressure on PIA
Sounds like Ferrari have been asking HAM to lift and coast, which is why he’s not passed ALB
38: LEC locks his front-right but VER isn’t close enough to benefit
Radio for LEC telling him the gap to VER but LEC says “leave me alone”
39: NOR has reduced PIA’s lead to about 5sec but it’s too late
PIA laps HAD
40/44: PIA, NOR, LEC, VER, RUS, ALB, HAM, LAW, BOR, GAS, TSU, BEA, HUL, STR, OCO, ANT, ALO, SAI, COL, HAD
OCO right on STR’s tail
Takes NOR a while to lap HAD
41: VER closing a bit on LEC but not in DRS range yet
42: PIA’s lead down to 3.8sec but there’s only 3 laps left
Radio for PIA warning him there might be a few rain drops in Turn 1 in the final laps
43: NOR locks up a fraction out of La Source – another mistake is costing him the chance to challenge for P1
44/44: PIA’s lead back up to 5sec
PIA takes the chequered flag
Provisional result: PIA, NOR, LEC, VER, RUS, ALB, HAM, LAW, BOR, GAS; BEA, HUL, TSU, STR, OCO, ANT, ALO, SAI, COL, HAD
(No penalties)
[2025 calendar and driver line-up]
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