[ad_1]
In recent years, the legendary Belgian strip of asphalt has been Ferrari’s home ground: with their buffalo engine, they dominated the Belgian Grand Prix last year. Charles Leclerc won the first victory of his career in Formula 1 at Spaand then he won the next Italian Grand Prix.
The Scuderia, on the other hand, has dropped significantly in terms of engine power this year after it can no longer use the solutions it used to exploit loopholes in technical regulations last year, which it can no longer use this year after a confidential agreement with the International Automobile Federation (FIA).
According to some data Ferrari returned to fourth, last place among engine manufacturersNo wonder, then, that Friday’s Belgian Grand Prix free practice disappointingly includes: Charles Leclerc was 15th and Sebastian Vettel only 17th in the second practice.
Leclerc admitted at the end of the opening day that he was surprised by Ferrari’s delay, and team boss Mattia Binotto admitted that they just don’t get along with the tires, so they struggle not only in the fast-paced sections but also in the most winding sector of the Belgian track.
The latter is confirmed by the fact that Ferrari finished behind Alfa Romeo on Friday. so it’s not just the V6 engine that is the problem to the Maranellos.
SINGLE CIRCLE
As seen on Friday, Mercedes will continue to be at the forefront of the pace of a lap, so it will be difficult to squeeze the Germans in the time trial. Red Bull’s deficit could be roughly 8 tenths of a second, while the fight between Racing Point and Renault could be quite close in the time trial.
Verstappen also said after Friday’s practice that he doesn’t expect to have a chance to start on Saturday.
“Personally, I think Mercedes is still struggling a bit with balance and I hope they are stronger on Saturday. They already seem to be very competitive on the long stages, and I doubt we can fight them for pole because we can’t really keep up with them when they wind the engine on the stopwatch. “
Anyway, according to Friday’s data In the second most winding sector of the Belgian track, Mercedes has a significant lead of almost 4 tenths of a second over Red Bull Racing.
Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, tried to be cautious: He said he expects a close battle with Red Bull.
“I think the Red Bulls are a little bit faster now, but Racing Point is there with us too, and Daniel Ricciardo and Renault are also very close,” said the Mercedes driver.
“So it’s exciting. We still have work to do, that’s for sure, but no problem. “
The Racing Point team may even have a chance to get on the podium this weekend, as their car really does have the spa race track. In terms of raw pace, according to the data, they are only 2 tenths behind Red BullAnd Sergio Pérez is confident that he will qualify for one of the first two rows on Saturday.
COMPETITION RHYTHM
Although Red Bull is not very competitive with Mercedes in terms of timing performance, the pace of competition from energy drink manufacturers already looks much more promising. On the long stages the Verstappens soared, and analysis shows they are just one tenth behind Mercedes. However, it is worth treating the data with reservations, because in the second free practice, when the competitors completed their long stages, the lap was interrupted with a red flag by debris.
Behind Mercedes and Red Bull Renault and Racing Point will also be able to fight closely. The data on McLaren should also be treated with caution, as there was simply not enough room to draw representative conclusions. Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz, for their part, were optimistic after the opening sessions.
Pirelli, by the way, for this weekend brought with it a softer mix of tiresLike last year, the teams spent a lot of time collecting tire data. According to the Italian rubber manufacturer than expected the difference in lap time between medium and soft compound tires is greater, which will also have a big impact on strategies, as it will be more difficult to pass on harder tires.
The weather forecast is that the F1 field could still escape without rain on Saturday, however, the heavens may have a voice in Sunday fights.
