By Mark Gero
One of the most feared classic races on the formula 1 schedule took place this past weekend, as the Belgian Grand Prix at the historic Spa Franchorchamps circuit greeted the racing grid and it did not come up with the lack of excitement. As usual, the rains that usually hit the circuit caused a bit of controversy and gave the series leader points to advance his lead in the world championship. Here is the summary of what happened….
Oscar Piastri started the week by taking the best time for the only practice for this weekend’s event. The Australian started his authority even after a two-week break following his controversial placing at the last race in Britain. It seemed like he shook the past off and concentrated on a circuit where he is very much a fan of. Piastri made it a double success as the Mclaren driver also took pole for the Saturday’s sprint race, which would be 15 laps, on a circuit that is the longest on the calendar at 4.4 miles a lap. Sadly enough, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli were at the bottom of the grid, along with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, who is not impressing much to keep his drive on the team.
A great day as far as the weather is concerned as the Saturday sprint race was the only day where the circuit was dry. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who has won this race three times, got off to a great start and won the race just ahead of Piastri, who had trouble trying to get ahead on the straights. But what was more different was the qualifying session later that afternoon, where both Piastri and Verstappen lost out to the second McLaren of Lando Norris, who impressed with the best time just seven minutes from the end with a 1:41:010, giving McLaren a front row start. It would be interesting in how the two papaya drivers will deal with one another on race day.
Race day itself was cold, wet and the rain came down so much that other support races had to be cut short. For the formula 1 drivers, the race began on intermediate tyres and behind the safety car. But only after a couple of laps, the race was red flagged, and the drivers had to wait an hour and a half before having to climb back into their cars. Once the circuit was clear again, the safety car was back out for another couple of laps before the race would begin from a rolling start. Immediately afterwards right up Eau Rouge, Piastri quickly got around Norris, which was the only big move all day between the two. Only after 12 laps, the track began to dry and all of the drivers came into the pits for slicks. But Piastri after all this regained the lead and kept it to the end, where he beat his Briton rival by just over three seconds. The win now puts Piastri 16 points ahead of Norris and with one race remaining before the summer break, many feel that Norris needs more chances in order to keep the title from going to his teammate.
That one race will be at the newly bult Hungaroring, a twisty, short lap circuit that favours high downforce and can give many drivers who at the lower part of the grid a great chance to score points. The track is dusty, dirty and the weather compared to Belgium is much warmer. Although in the past, it has rained which changed a lot in the order as it has in the past. But now all eyes are on this circuit, which next to Monaco is the lowest speed track that there is.
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