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Lewis Hamilton secured pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix, the seventh round of the season in Formula 1. It is the 93rd time that the World Champion has completed the fastest lap in qualifying: fifth in 2020 and 6th at Spa-Francorchamps ! Tomorrow, the race is scheduled to start at 2:10 pm, probably in the rain, a weather forecast that ‘feeds’ the expectation of… animation.
Hamilton dominated the 3rd segment of the qualifying session, twice improving the Spa-Francorchamps record (1.41.501m), which belonged to Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) since 2018, first covering the circuit at 1.41.451m, then at 1.41.252 m. “It’s true, I felt better at the back and got an important pole. I dedicate it to the memory of Chadwick Boseman ”, said Lewis, remembering the American actor who died on Friday the 28th in Los Angeles (USA), a victim of colon cancer. He was 43 years old and gained fame in the cinema with the performances of two black icons (Jackie Robinson and James Brown) and his participation in the Marvel film ‘Black Panther’. “This news shook me and it wasn’t easy to concentrate, to stay focused. We are living through a very difficult year, for all the reasons we know of ”, said the World Champion.
Valtteri Bottas secured second place, more than 0.5 seconds behind Hamilton. “The place on the grid is great, especially on a circuit like Spa, as it can even benefit me in the game. To stay in the fight for the title, I have to take risks in the race, ”said the Finn, who found no explanation for his teammate’s advantage. “The lap was perfect, I don’t understand where I lost so much time,” he admitted. For Mercedes, for the 71st time (63rd since the beginning of the hybrid era, in Australia-2014), two individual seats in the first row of the starting grid. Only Scuderia Ferrari achieved more: 80.
Interestingly, the Italian team was the protagonist of the negative qualification for the 53rd Belgian Grand Prix scored for the Formula 1 World Championship. In 2019, the Scuderia dominated all practice and secured pole position and won the race with Charles Leclerc. Today, the two ‘rampant horse’ failed to qualify for the decisive phase of the program (Q3), with Leclerc qualifying 13th and Vettel 14th. Such a lack of competitiveness has raised all the alarms in Maranello. After Spa and Belgium, Formula 1 travels to Italy, to race in Monza, in the ‘Temple of Speed’ …
Qualifying results and provisional starting grid
1st Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG, 1.41.252 m
2nd Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-AMG, +0.511 seconds
3rd Max Verstappen, Red Bull-Honda, +0.526 seconds
4th Daniel Ricciardo, Renault, +0.809 s
5th Alexander Albon, Red Bull-Honda, +1.012s
6th Esteban Ocon, Renault, +1144 s
7th Carlos Sainz Jr., McLaren-Renault, +1.186 seconds
8th Sergio Pérez, Racing Point-Mercedes, +1,280 s
9th Ride Lance, Racing Point-Mercedes, +1.351 s
10th Lando Norris, McLaren-Renault, +1.405 seconds
11th Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri-Honda, +1.478 seconds
12th Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri-Honda, +1,493 s
13th Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, +1.744 s
14th Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, +2.009 s
15th George Russell, Williams-Mercedes, +2,216 s
16th Kimi Räikkönen, Alfa Romeo-Ferrari, +2,491 p
17th Romain Grosjean, Haas-Ferrari, +2,586 sec
18th Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo-Ferrari, +2,698 s
19th Nicholas Latifi, Williams-Mercedes, 2,886 seconds
20th Kevin Magnussen, Haas-Ferrari, +3.062 seconds
