Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. TOTOTO Spa: Hopes of back-to-back podium finishes at the Belgian Grand Prix are not impossible, but they appear far-fetched for Australian Oscar Piastri, who struggled to maintain the pace during Saturday’s qualifying session after suffering mechanical
Spa: Hopes of back-to-back podium finishes at the Belgian Grand Prix are not impossible, but they appear far-fetched for Australian Oscar Piastri, who struggled to maintain the pace during Saturday’s qualifying session after suffering mechanical problems earlier in the weekend.
The McLaren garage was full of orange T-shirts and worried faces on Friday as engineers rushed to repair a hydraulic leak at the end of FP1, which required a gearbox change and cost the Australian valuable track time.
At a sun-drenched Spa during Saturday’s qualifying session, Piastri persevered to reach Q3 but ultimately lacked the pace to fight for a place at the front of the grid and qualified seventh, but will move up to sixth due to grid penalties.
When asked what his team was missing, an honest Piastri had a two-word answer.
“Just speed,” he said in his post-race interview.
“To be honest, it hasn’t been particularly easy all weekend, struggling with the balance of the car, but today in particular it was quite a tough job trying to get some lap time back, it’s not an easy day, but we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”
Piastri said McLaren was probably the third or fourth fastest car on the track, but he hoped the papaya team could still make an impact during Sunday’s race.
Meanwhile, young Italian Kimi Antonelli took his sixth pole position, fending off a last-minute attack from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who received a tow from teammate Isack Hadjar.
“Taking home pole is good, but tomorrow will be 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 44.361 was enough to take pole position three tenths from Verstappen, who will start second.
Piastri’s current situation is in direct contrast to that of his teammate Lando Norris, who took third place after a strong performance in which he briefly set the fastest lap.
Despite his pace, Norris will drop to 13th position after a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding his power unit’s component allocation.
“We haven’t changed anything, we’re just faster on this track,” Norris said when asked about McLaren’s performance in Belgium after qualifying.
“It’s a shame this isn’t where we really start tomorrow as it would be nice to fight these guys. [Verstappen and Antonelli].
“I’ve been happy all weekend, so I hope we can still have a good race tomorrow. The car is working well, good enough to take third today, so we’ll see. Hopefully, we’ll 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 thrilling end between Verstappen and Antonelli, arguably the most dramatic moment occurred hours before practice.
During FP3, Lewis Hamilton attempted to catch up with Antonelli, but went off the Fanges chicane and into the gravel.
The seven-time world champion crashed his rear wheel into the barrier, shredding the tire and damaging the rear wing as the Ferrari came to a stop.
Spectators in the stands stood up and crowded around the barriers, as Hamilton cautiously exited the car to survey the damage.
The accident suspended practice and brought out a yellow flag, giving Ferrari mechanics just hours to fix Hamilton’s car before qualifying.
“I destroyed the car mate, I’m sorry,” Hamilton said over the radio.
Ferrari’s mechanics worked miracles to ensure the car was ready for qualifying that afternoon, but Hamilton only managed to take sixth place.
The Belgian Grand Prix is on Sunday at 11pm AEST.
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Hannah Kennelly is an award-winning sports reporter and Formula 1 writer at The Age.Connect by email.From our partners
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