Belgium: pre-qualifying 2018
There have bee one or
two driver announcements in the mid-season interval, following
Ricciardo leaving Red Bull for Renault. Alonso is out, leaving F1,
with his McLaren seat being taken by Sainz. It remains to be seen who
will be the team mate of the younger Spaniard. Most think it’ll be
Norris or Vandoorne.
Gasly has been named as
Verstappen’s team mate, which isn’t a huge surprise. We have no
confirmation as yet regarding Raikkonen or Leclerc for the second
Ferrari seat, though the Finn may well retain it (had seemed nailed
on the young Monegasque would get the seat, but the change in Ferrari
leadership may have changed that).
It’s also believed
Stroll will end up going to Force India, though who his team mate
will be (should it happen) is uncertain.
Speaking of Force
India, it’s been quite a turbulent time. They emerged from
administration, brought about by Perez (ironically) to prevent a
worse financial move by a different creditor, only to have all their
points removed. So they’re now bottom of the Constructors’.
They’ll probably overhaul Williams pronto and then surpass Toro
Rosso and Sauber into the season, but it’d be a big ask for them to
catch up to the likes of McLaren in the races remaining.
The mid-season break
usually seems very long, but after four races in quick succession it
actually felt like a nice break. Anyway, teams will have had some
mandatory time off, as well as continuing their work trying to
develop the cars.
It seems that Bottas
may have a big engine upgrade, and changes mean he’ll start from
the back of the grid. Same goes for Hulkenberg. The Ferraris and Hamilton also have upgraded engines but no corresponding penalty.
Happily, we return to
F1 with a proper circuit: Spa. Can be soggy sometimes, has great
corners, some gravel traps, and a layout that can suit either a low
or high downforce setup.
It’s almost
impossible to tell at this stage who’s made marginal gains, but the
vast gap between the top three and the rest of the field will not
have been bridged. It’s simply too huge a difference to narrow
significantly over a few weeks (or, indeed, a season).
Vettel topped first
practice, a tenth and a half ahead of Verstappen, who was an equal
margin ahead of Hamilton. Raikkonen and Bottas followed with
Ricciardo nearly a second off the Finns. Ocon, Hulkenberg, Perez, and
Sainz round out the top 10.
In second practice
Raikkonen was top, ahead of Hamilton. Bottas, Verstappen, Vettel and
Ricciardo completed the top chaps, and Perez was best of the rest, a
full eight-tenths up on Sainz. Ericsson and Leclerc made it a good
session for the Saubers.
Third practice had it
nice and tight at the top. Vettel was top, half a tenth ahead of his
team mate, Raikkonen the same margin ahead of Hamilton. Bottas was
well off the pace but probably wasn’t trying a qualifying
simulation. Nevertheless, he was still half a second ahead of
Verstappen and Ricciardo, with the same margin from the Aussie to
Leclerc. Perez was a surprising three-tenths off the Monegasque,
followed by Hulkenberg and Ocon.
With Bottas penalised
already, it’s a three horse race for pole, almost certainly (the
Finn will be set up for maximum overtaking opportunities). Raikkonen
has a very strong record around this circuit. Predictions are
complicated by both top teams having major engine upgrades and we
don’t know who was sandbagging the most.
There’s also the
potential for rain, but third practice was dry and it’s believed
qualifying will be too.
Raikkonen is 5.5 for
pole. Each way equates to a third the odds for top 2. Tricky, but I
think that’s worth backing.
Morris Dancer
Comments
Post a Comment