One-lap pace
Belgium has been Ferrari country in recent years, the Scuderia having formerly established the class-leading power unit. They can not boast that accolade this year, though, the SF1000 lacking the sufficient grunt to match their rivals.
The wet things was nowhere to be seen while F1 automobiles were out on track, however, with Max Verstappen making hay in his Red Bull. Lets look at the numbers …
Some information even recommends they have actually dropped to last and 4th in the chain of command for power system suppliers. Its possibly no surprise, then, that they were well off the speed when they returned to Spa this year.
FOUND OUT MORE: Sad to see Ferrari up until now down states Leclerc as group depression to P15 and P17 in Spa 2nd practice
Leclerc admitted Ferrari were amazed by how far adrift they were of the speed, and the truth that they ended up behind both Ferrari-powered Alfa Romeos includes evidence to the argument that it is not simply the engine that is holding the Scuderia back. Their aerodynamic plan needs work, too. And that will be of fantastic concern.
Charles Leclerc was down in 15th on the timesheets in FP2, with his group mate Sebastian Vettel 2 locations even more back.
Short run pace in Belgium
Red Bull have filled deep space left by Ferrari, with Max Verstappen coming to Spa on a run of five successive podiums. On Friday, the RB16 looked remarkable around the high-speed turns in the hands of both Verstappen and his group mate Alex Albon, the latter encouragingly aiming to have made an action forward with his one-lap pace.
Verstappen did not think a very first pole of 2020 was possible. “The vehicle seems to be managing well,” he stated.
FOUND OUT MORE: Verstappen pleased with excellent start as Red Bull set the rate in Belgium
Is Verstappen simply being mindful? Well our data recommends not, with Mercedes blazing a trail in the brief run metric, by as much as 0.8 s/lap (as you can see in the chart above). According to our corner efficiency figures, its in the middle sector where the Silver Arrows sculpt out such a considerable advantage over their competitors.
Reigning world champ and champion leader Lewis Hamilton, however, reckons Mercedes still have lots of work to do to emerge on the top, and watches out for the Red Bull hazard. “Its extremely close out there between Red Bull and us,” he stated.
” I think they may be a bit quicker even at the moment. Racing Point are also looking strong, theyre right with us too therefore was Daniel [Ricciardo] in the Renault. Its truly close with everybody and we have to understand why– whether theyve taken an action forwards or weve taken a step backwards. So weve absolutely got some work to do over night, dig through the data and dial and try in the vehicle a bit more.”
READ MORE: Hamilton delighted by closeness of competitors in Belgium after P3 in FP2
Racing Point should remain in podium contention this weekend, offered their automobile is extremely much suited to this circuit, and our information recommends they will remain in the mix, just 0.2 s/lap behind Red Bull– but closely matched by Renault. Racing Points Sergio Perez stated he would be dissatisfied if he isnt on the front two rows of the grid for Sundays race, while Renaults Ricciardo said “lets be reasonable” and go for a top-six on Saturday.
Ricciardo was fast on Friday
The Silver Arrows are the quickest according to our information, though we need to worry the numbers are impacted by the disruptions in practice of the Virtual Safety Car and red flags, so have actually been adapted to take that into account.
While Red Bull might not have the ability to match Mercedes in qualifying trim, they are extremely much at the races when it comes to long terms– which produces an extremely yummy possibility for Sunday indeed.
Race pace
It may well be a two-horse race, with Renault and Racing Point the next finest, but they are around 1.3 s/lap adrift. Mercedes are careful of the threat from behind, with their trackside chief Andrew Shovlin saying: “On the high fuel runs, the midfield appears a bit closer than they did in previous races, so we can probably find a bit of time there.”
Its mighty close in that midfield, with Renault, Racing Point, Ferrari, AlphaTauri, Haas, and Alfa Romeo separated by just 0.6 s/lap, recommending an intriguingly close battle for the points.
FOUND OUT MORE: Ricciardo eager to capitalise on practice pace after unsurprising second location in FP2
McLaren have not been included in our data because there wasnt adequate lap information to draw representative conclusions, however, both Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris were buoyed by their performance across the board on Friday, and theres an expectation they ought to both remain in contention for points.
The midfield fight should be tight in the race
Weather-wise, dry conditions are anticipated on Saturday– but things might get spicy on Sunday with rain projection.
And in regards to one-lap efficiency, Pirelli stated they saw a larger time space in between the medium and soft compounds than they had forecasted, which will affect qualifying strategies, as this will make it more difficult to survive Q1 on the medium.
Verdict
Pirelli opted to bring a softer set of tyres to Spa, which suggested the teams invested plenty of time gathering data on the soft to see how they could include the red-walled tire into their race technique plans.
A decent certifying could cause some slipstreamy goodness from Verstappen on race day
The damp stuff was nowhere to be seen while F1 cars were out on track, however, with Max Verstappen making hay in his Red Bull. Verstappen did not believe a first pole of 2020 was possible. Is Verstappen simply being mindful? Well our data recommends not, with Mercedes leading the way in the short run metric, by as much as 0.8 s/lap (as you can see in the chart above). Weve definitely got some work to do over night, dig through the information and call and try in the cars and truck a little more.”
Throw a pretty quick Racing Point in to the mix, particularly in the hands of Perez, and a Renault that looks delicious around here– plus the McLaren that has been ruthlessly consistent this year– and you have the ingredients for a thriller.
If it remains dry, Mercedes are in package seat for qualifying. However if Verstappen lines up in P3– or takes benefit of a mistake– hes got an automobile beneath him to challenge for big silverware on Sunday.
