The Belgian Grand Prix has now been and gone, and flying Dutchman Max Verstappen couldn’t have made it look any easier as he took a victory from 14th place in the land of his birth.
It was a busy weekend full of insight that we’re going to dive into as well as some updates on drivers and circuits for next season.
New Rules, Same Red Bull
Max Verstappen has won his ninth race of the season, getting a 1-2 finish alongside his teammate Sergio Perez for just the fourth time this season. At the start of the week, it was presumed that the new F1 technical directive which caused teams to increase the height of the floors inside their cars and redesign the car in the name of anti-porpoising measures would negatively affect the two leading teams in Red Bull and Ferrari, however it wasn't meant to be.
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It was clear that Red Bull had no problems adapting to these changes and have come out of the summer break with better pace, if anything. Christian Horner joked following the race, thanking his rival team principal Toto Wolff in a post-race interview.
“On the face of it I’d probably have to thank Toto for the [Technical Directive]!. In all seriousness, I think this circuit has played to our strengths.” said the four-time constructors' champion.
It was clear that the circuit was perfect for the RB-18, a car with perfectly balance downforce that still retains the standard low drag speed that an Adrian Newey designed car should. It’s a car moulded in the image of it’s star driver and more success will follow this season if other teams are unable to develop their cars.
Ferrari Strategists Fail Again
The Scuderia are outdoing themselves. Years have now passed since their last meaningful run at a drivers' or constructors' title and at the moment it looks like the team will ruin another set of drivers' chances of glory.
Team principal Mattia Binotto is the face of the team and faces criticism from all directions as Charles Leclerc publicly saw his race collapse once again at Spa. His race had already been compromised after getting the tearable wrap of Max Verstappen’s visor caught in his tyre that caused an early pit stop. This was followed by mediocre race pace on a medium tyre that just didn’t seem to suit the Ferrari and, towards the end of the race, Leclerc was told to pit for soft tyres in the hopes of re-entering the track ahead of sixth placed Fernando Alonso and get an attempt at the fastest lap to earn an extra point.
He didn’t re-enter fifth, he had to fight back to earn his spot ahead of Alonso. He didn’t succeed in his attempt at getting the fastest lap either, and it turns out that when he came in to the pits, after saying he didn’t want to risk his race but being told to regardless, accidentally went over the pit lane’s speed limit, causing a five second penalty that saw him finish sixth, behind Alonso.
It’s remarkable how often this is happening to Charles Leclerc, who has finished above teammate Carlos Sainz just once in his last nine races, and it’s clear that the problems at the Prancing Horse start at the top. The title race is pretty much over, so next season a shake up is needed if they want to get back to winning ways, or even just stay in second place.
Alonso & Hamilton’s Frosty Exchange
Lewis Hamilton was the only driver this season to have a perfect 100% finish rate of races, yet to DNF at all so far this year. Contact between the seven-time champion and his old teammate Fernando Alonso at Les Combes on the first lap saw the Mercedes bounce over the kerbs in the run-off at turns 7 and 8, doing irreparable damage to the car and probably the spine of Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton was quick to take responsibility for the crash, saying that he ‘didn’t see Alonso’ as he was in his blind spot, but the Spaniard was a little bit more heated in the moment.
Fernando Alonso was NOT happy with Lewis Hamilton as they collide on the opening lap 😡
“What an idiot! We had a mega start but he only knows how to drive and start in first,” were the words muttered over the radio by the twice-champion. Hamilton was then questioned multiple times in the follow-up to the race, with responses like “nice to know how he feels about me,” and “I don’t care,” given as the response.
These two have been racing for a long time and they’ll no doubt bury the hatchet sooner rather than later, but at the moment there will no doubt be more attention on the pair at Zandvoort.
Szafnauer Confirms Piastri To McLaren
Before things got underway in Belgium, Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer sat down with multiple media outlets where he inevitably had to talk about the driver situation for 2023. Alpine had announced Oscar Piastri as their new driver for next year after Fernando Alonso had announced he was heading to Aston Martin, but the Australian youngster denied that he had confirmed that he was taking the seat.
Now Daniel Ricciardo is leaving McLaren at the end of the year, it seems that Piastri will be the one to take his seat and the Alpine boss confirmed that there was a contract sorted for that very deal.
"He's a promising young driver...my wish for Oscar was that he had a bit more integrity. He signed a piece of paper as well back in November and we've done everything
The Romanian boss confirmed that the deal was signed to Sky Sports’ Rachel Brookes, and also wished that the junior driver had more integrity during the matter, which drew more ire from McLaren CEO Zak Brown, who brought up Szafnauer’s fine and points deduction in 2020 when Racing Point were found guily of illegally copying parts from the 2019 championship-winning Mercedes, with the team paying Mercedes for the privilege of designs the same brake ducts.
It’s all getting a bit spicy on the paddock!
Spa Confirmed For Another Year
A small victory for Belgian F1 fans was confirmed during the race this weekend, as we’ll be seeing Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps next season after the organisers came to an agreement on a one-year deal.
Negotiations for the return of the South African Grand Prix at the Kyalami circuit seemed to have come to a halt for now, so the Belgian GP can survive for at least another season. It’s clear that Spa is no longer a priority track for F1, otherwise this deal wouldn’t be up in the air for so long, and after seeing the French GP get axed just a few days before the weekend begun, it wouldn’t have been a surprise for it to follow.
The South African track owners will no doubt be back at the negotiating table for a spot in the 2024 calendar and Belgium will have to fight once again for a place.
