Formula One Recap: The Belgian GP, Spa

Formula One Recap: The Belgian GP, Spa

Formula One is exciting at the moment, with Verstappen losing race pace, and Mercedes and the Mercedes-powered McLaren team showing competition. Spa is a thrilling track regardless of the result, yet this year, the circuit proved to be the grounds for a brilliant display of strategy and driving. 

Qualifying offered an interesting beginning to the weekend as a damp track set the scene for the hot laps ahead. Max Verstappen proved to be the faster driver under the conditions. However, a power unit change forced him to concede a 10-place grid penalty. Surprisingly, Charles Leclerc responded with an impressive drive to seal pole position, with Sergio Perez in second, Lewis Hamilton in third, Lando Norris in fourth, and Oscar Piastri in fifth for race day. 

The day of the race began with more promising weather as the drivers lined up on the grid. As the lights went out, Hamilton had a great start, immediately taking Perez in the first corner and setting the lead, with Leclerc in his sights. Meanwhile, Norris proved to be unfortunate, as a wide line into turn one forced him back two places, behind Carlos Sainz and George Russell. 

Lap three gifted Hamilton with a first-place opportunity, which he seized under DRS. It's clear that on a fast track like Spa, strategy is important. So as the first round of pitstops occurred on lap 11, Russell came in for an early pit and Verstappen followed, both opting for the hard tyre, which was a move that Russell made the most of. 

The rest of the pack came in on lap 16, where the undercut of Russell allowed him to replace Piastri in 3rd. Lap 17 left a frog in the throat of the current leader, Sainz, as a wide line nearly ended his race as he found himself wielding his car through the gravel and back onto the track. This was enough inspiration to force a pitstop as the rear tyres were battling for grip. 

Only a couple of laps later, Russell, now between both Red Bulls, used DRs to his advantage and sped past Perez in fourth, clearly showing confidence in his tyre degradation. Russell began teasing his engineers with the possibility of a one-stop run. Meanwhile, the second round of pitstops commenced on lap 27. Verstappen continued to climb up the leaderboard, overtaking his teammate with Norris in his mirrors and shortly after Norris overtook Perez, he began hunting down the champ. 

After the second round of stops, Russell's one-stop strategy proved to be beneficial as Hamilton began his charge to catch his team member. He was informed that at his current rate, it will be a close finish. 

Piastri has impressed many with his driving performances over the last couple of events. He again proved his strong nerve and skill in an overtake against Leclerc on lap 36, offering the youngster and last week's winner yet another crack at the podium. 

With Russell nursing his tyres and his teammate hot on his tail, and with only seven laps remaining, it was bound to be a close finish as long as Russell's tyres held out. With only one lap remaining, Hamilton was close on George's tail, but somehow George continued to lay down an impressive lap time whilst keeping Hamilton at bay. All the while Piastri continued on his charge and was fast approaching. 

The last lap was tense, but Russell managed to fend off his partner and seal the deal. Or so we thought. Unfortunately, the post-race inspection showed Russell's car to be underweight, which would have offered him an extra 0.3 seconds per lap, forcing a disqualification and first-place win for Hamilton. 

Here are the final race results:

1.    Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   
2.    Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team   
3.    Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari   
4.    Max Verstappen, Oracle Red Bull Racing   
5.    Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team   
6.    Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari   
7.    Sergio Perez, Oracle Red Bull Racing   
8.    Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   
9.    Esteban Ocon, BWT Alpine F1 Team   
10.    Daniel Ricciardo, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team   
11.    Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   
12.    Alex Albon, Williams Racing   
13.    Pierre Gasly, BWT Alpine F1 Team   
14.    Kevin Magnussen, MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   
15.    Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   
16.    Yuki Tsunoda, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team   
17.    Logan Sargeant, Williams Racing   
18.    Nico Hulkenberg, MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   
  DNF.    Zhou Guanyu, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   
  DSQ.    George Russell, Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team    

After a disappointing controversy, we certainly feel for Russell after such an impressive race. It was exciting, and it was good and proper racing. Four teams now show good race pace, and we definitely hope to see more action like what we witnessed in Spa. For now, the teams head into a three-week break, after which the action will return in the Netherlands on the 25th of August, at Zandvoort.

‍