2023 Belgian Grand Prix Recap
In the final race before the summer break, the Belgian GP brought fans the third sprint race of the season. Throughout the course of the last weekend in July, rain plagued the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
During FP1 on Friday, conditions were harsh enough for no driver to complete ten laps. Later that day came qualifying, where Verstappen was able to snag pole position with the fastest lap time of 1:46.168. However, it was Leclerc who started in first position on Sunday due to Verstappen’s five-place grid penalty for a fifth gearbox change.
On Saturday came the sprint races, first with the sprint shootout and later the sprint. With rain pouring on the track, the sprint shootout was delayed 35 minutes. As the session went on and the track dried, times improved. With the conclusion of SQ3, it was Verstappen who led the pack with a 1:49.056 lap time, with Piastri just trailing by 0.011s. The Ferraris weren’t far behind, with Sainz only 0.025s behind Verstappen. With even more rain later that day, the sprint started 30 minutes late, and drivers were required to start on full wet tires behind the safety car for various formation laps. In the end, it was the Dutch driver who took home the top prize, 8 points, because he finished 11 laps in 24:58.433. Piastri and Gasly rounded out the podium 6.677 and 10.733 seconds behind, respectively.
Finally, on July 30th, the 2023 Belgian GP was underway. Each lap is 7.004 km, with the race lasting 44 laps.
The race was off to a fiery start as Piastri and Sainz went into turn one. Sainz locked up with Hamilton on his outside as Piastri tried to sneak past on his inside. The two collided, causing significant damage to both cars.
The McLarens were unable to replicate their impressive performance from Hungary and ended with Norris in P7 and Piastri retiring on lap one following the collision with Sainz. Norris dropped from P7 early in the race but was able to recover and end where he started.
As for the Ferraris, Sainz was able to push on for 23 laps before he ended his race with damage from his collision. Leclerc dropped from pole position and ended on the podium in third, 49.671s behind the race winner. They also coined the fastest pit stop of the race, lasting 2.19s.
Haas had another week where they struggled with race pace, with Magnussen ending in P15 and Hulkenberg ending in P18.
Williams was unable to get points. Albon finished in P14, and Sargent ended in P17. Both drivers improved one position from their starting grid placements.
Alpha Tauri had Tsunoda improving one place to end in the points in P10. Ricciardo finished P16, three places lower than last weekend.
Alfa Romeo finished the race without any points, with Bottas in P12 and Zhou in P13. Zhou picked up four places throughout the 44 laps.
Gasly ended just outside the points in P11, with Ocon picking up four points in P8. Ocon made up six places in his Alpine.
Stroll and Alonso both bagged points in P9 and P5, respectively. Alonso had an impressive race moving up from P9 to add ten more points to his season total with Aston Martin.
The second-place team in the Constructors Championship, Mercedes, ended with both of their drivers in the points. Russell ended P6, and Hamilton ended P4, just outside of the podium. Hamilton had a late pit stop to power him to get the fastest lap of the race, with a time of 1:47.305.
Red Bull was able to continue their dominance, with both drivers in the top two places on the podium. Perez was able to steal the lead from Leclerc on lap one until Verstappen took his place as race leader less than halfway through. Verstappen overcame his penalty, overtaking everyone in his path to secure his eighth consecutive race win. He claimed 25 points while finishing the race 22.305s ahead of his teammate. Verstappen was awarded driver of the day as well.
With the summer break and silly season just beginning, keep an eye out for all the rumors that will ensue until the Netherlands GP at the end of August.