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Elation and Frustration: Belgian GP Recap

Formula 1 is a rollercoaster. On and off the track. The hours immediately after Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix attest to that.

From the jubilation of a 1-2 to the disappointment of disqualification. Sport can be cruel at times. Nevertheless, victory remained ours and there were many positives to take away from the weekend.

Here is what we learned at Spa-Francorchamps.

Why Was George Disqualified?

As tough as it was to take in the aftermath of yesterday’s super drive, there can be no complaints with the decision to disqualify George’s car.

Article 4.1 of the FIA’s Technical Rulebook states that: “The mass of the car, without fuel, must not be less than 798kg at all times during the Competition.”

When car 63 was weighed in Parc Fermé, it came in at 796.5kg, 1.5 kilos below the minimum limit.

The team are still working through what exactly caused that, to make sure that such mistakes cannot happen again.

For context of how rare P1 disqualifications are in F1, the last one was at Spa 30 years ago, when Michael Schumacher lost the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix for illegal skid block wear.

105 and counting..

A consolation of losing George’s victory was that Lewis was the car behind. The team therefore kept its winning Driver and Constructor trophies.

The 105th win of Lewis’ career was his fifth at Spa and first since 2020. Having waited 56 races to stand on the top step of the podium after Saudi Arabia 2021, Lewis has now won two of the past three.

Behind George’s bold one-stop strategy, the seven-time world champion was easily the fastest car on the more conventional two-stop plan, and was in the words of Toto post-race a ‘deserving winner’.

How the Spa Corners Got Their Names

Tyre Talk

What allowed George to cross the line first on Sunday afternoon was his ability to make a set of Hard tyres last 33 laps around the punishing Spa track.

While those in front of him on the grid twice made the switch to new rubber, George’s visit to the box on lap 10 was his only one of the race.

Inheriting the lead at the second round of stops, he had kept enough life in his tyres to keep the chasing pack behind in the final few laps.

It is not the first time he has been so careful with his tyres this season. In Monaco, he completed 75 laps on the Hard tyre, keeping him in play with those ahead for the duration of the race.

Mid-Season Momentum

It would have been tricky to imagine back in March that the team would be heading into the summer break having won three of the past four races, but here we are.

The past six races have seen the team come home with a podium each time. Along with the two wins for Lewis and George’s triumph in Austria, there were also poles for George in Montreal and Silverstone.

In the past five races, no driver has scored more points than Lewis (108). Of the 266 points the team have scored this season, nearly two thirds have come in the past six races.

If that trend continues, the final 10 races of the season are not to be missed.

Eau Rouge… Oh Wow

Taken at nearly 300km/h, the iconic Raidillon de l’Eau Rouge sequence of bends is not usually recognised as an overtaking opportunity at Spa.

Now imagine that in the soaking wet conditions, and the prospect of gaining places becomes slimmer still.

Junior driver Kimi Antonelli proved that it could be done though. He pulled off a spectacular move up the hill during the shortened Formula 2 Sprint race on Saturday in Belgium.

Check out the stunning pass here

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