FORMULA 1 MSC CRUISES BELGIAN GRAND PRIX 2023
| Circuit stats | |
|---|---|
| First Grand Prix | 1950 |
| Number of laps | 44 |
| Lap record | 1:46.286 Valtteri Bottas (2018) |
| 2022 winner | Max Verstappen |
Let’s go Oscar! Not sure how the McLaren is gonna hold up on race pace tbh, but hoping for a good result nonetheless.
It was great to see the sprint race post being quite lively yesterday compared to what I’ve seen previously around here.
Hope the pace keeps up and we get some good content here today.
Also, go Oscar! Been waiting sooo long to see my team back at the front.
Any chance of rain?
I’m less optimistic than Sam is about the chances of rain. There is a small shower cell about 40km to the west right now, but the sun is heating up the air and I don’t think it’ll make it to the track because of it. Maybe a few drops around 15:45 local time, but low probability. The even smaller cell he sees to arrive at around 15:05 near the track is already fizzling out. So if there aren’t any humid air masses or intense vertical movement I have missed, this is most probably a dry race. There is some significant gusty wind though.
If I only had better data :). The three weather stations around the track and Lüttich is what I’m working with. It seems that it was more cloudy than I expected and it hasn’t heated up enough. So now the humid air is rising up the mountain and the rain gaining intensity. With any luck we will see some raindrops arriving at 1540-1545.
Starting grid accounting for Max and Magnussen penalties
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:46.988 |
| 2 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:47.045 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:47.087 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:47.152 |
| 5 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 1:47.365 |
| 6 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:46.168 |
| 7 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 1:47.669 |
| 8 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:47.805 |
| 9 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:47.843 |
| 10 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:48.841 |
| 11 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri Honda RBPT | 1:53.148 |
| 12 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 1:53.671 |
| 13 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo Ferrari | 1:54.694 |
| 14 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 1:56.372 |
| 15 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 2:00.314 |
| 16 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:54.160 |
| 17 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo Ferrari | 2:00.832 |
| 18 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams Mercedes | 2:01.535 |
| 19 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | AlphaTauri Honda RBPT | 2:02.159 |
| 20 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | 2:03.166 |
This weekend just keeps getting worse for Haas doesn’t it.
