Spa: Hopes of back-to-back Belgian Grand Prix podiums aren’t impossible, but look far-fetched for Aussie Oscar Piastri, who struggled for pace during Saturday’s qualifying session after suffering mechanical issues earlier in the weekend.
The McLaren garage was a flurry of orange shirts and concerned faces on Friday as engineers rushed to fix a hydraulic leak at the end of FP1, which required a gearbox swap and cost the Australian valuable track time.
At a sun-soaked Spa during Saturday’s qualifying session, Piastri persevered to make Q3, but ultimately didn’t have the pace to challenge for a spot at the front of the grid and qualified seventh, but will move up to sixth due to grid penalties.
Meanwhile, Italian youngster Kimi Antonelli has snatched his sixth pole position, fending off a last-minute charge from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who received a tow from his teammate Isack Hadjar.
“To bring home pole is nice, but tomorrow is another day, with Max starting next to me, it will be important to get a good start and be ahead into Turn 5,” the 19-year-old said in a post-race interview.
The Mercedes driver’s time of 1m 44.361s was enough to seize pole by three-tenths from Verstappen who will start in second.
Piastri’s current predicament is in direct contrast to teammate Lando Norris, who clinched third after a strong performance where he briefly notched the fastest lap.
Despite his pace, Norris will drop to P13 following a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding his power unit components’ allocation.
“We haven’t changed anything, we are just quicker on this track,” Norris noted when asked about McLaren’s performance in Belgium post-qualifying.
“Unfortunate that this is not where we are genuinely starting tomorrow, as it would be nice to be fighting with these guys [Verstappen and Antonelli].
“I’ve been happy all weekend, so hopefully we can still have a good race tomorrow. The car is performing well, good enough for P3 today, so we will see. Hopefully, we will put on a good show for everyone.”
Spa-Francorchamps is the longest circuit on the calendar, with a unique combination of high speeds, steep elevation changes and often unpredictable weather
While Saturday’s qualifying session had a nail-biting finish between Verstappen and Antonelli, arguably the most dramatic moment happened hours early in practice.
During FP3, Lewis Hamilton was trying to catch Antonelli –but emerged wide from the Fanges chicane and veered into the gravel.
The seven-time world champion smashed his rear wheel into the barrier, shredding the tyre and damaging the rear wing as the Ferrari spluttered to a halt.
Spectators in the stands stood up and crowded the barriers, as Hamilton gingerly stepped out of the car to examine the damage.
The crash suspended practice and triggered a yellow flag, giving the Ferrari mechanics mere hours to fix Hamilton’s car before qualifying.
“I’ve destroyed the car mate, sorry,” Hamilton said over the radio.
Ferrari mechanics worked miracles to ensure the car was ready for qualifying that afternoon, but Hamilton only managed to clinch sixth place.
The Belgium Grand Prix is on Sunday 11pm AEST.
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Hannah Kennelly is an award-winning sports reporter and Formula 1 writer at The Age.Connect via email.From our partners
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