Max Verstappen had to apologize for losing his temper with his team in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. Credit: Reuters/Stephanie Lecocq
There was a distinct smell of déjà vu in the Ardennes air on Friday when Max Verstappen destroyed the field in qualifying for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix – but only after a foul-mouthed tirade against his race engineer, for which he later apologized.< /p>
Verstappen, who has won seven races in a row and nine of the last 11, was furious after nearly crashing out in the second quarter to 10th place and immediately accused his team of — performance on the radio.< /p>
It hardly mattered. After all, Verstappen not only got through, but completely dominated the third quarter, going 0.8 seconds faster than Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, although he will have to start sixth on Sunday after receiving a five-place penalty for a shift gearboxes.
It doesn't bother Red Bull too much. Verstappen came from 14th on the grid to win at Spa last year and they will be sure to repeat the trick this time, being much closer to the front given their superiority. In fact, that's why Red Bull decided to take the penalty here on the track, where overtaking is relatively easy. “I think this is the best place for it,” Verstappen later admitted. “I think Sunday is looking more and more dry. That's why we basically went for it here.
Second Red Bull Sergio Pérez will line up next to Leclerc in the front row, followed by Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes, who said he was “very happy” with third on the grid.
Hamilton's teammate George Russell can only go eighth fastest behind Oscar Piastri's and Lando Norris' two McLarens shared by Verstappen. This is despite the fact that Norris had to ride with damage due to going off the track in the first quarter.
Sergio Pérez qualified for a much better session and will start Sunday's race in the front row. Photo: AP/Geert Vanden Wijngaert
Russell will no doubt be disappointed, although his Mercedes team boss Toto Wolf tried to absolve him of any blame, saying the rear wing configuration he used compared to Hamilton cost him dearly. “George has a barn door in the back and it could be beneficial to tire performance on Sunday but didn't help today so we have to evaluate why it didn't help,” Wolf said.
Heavy downpour in an hour or so before the start of qualifying threatened to cancel it outright, especially since earlier this week the riders urged race director Niels Wittich to “be bold” and stop any races when visibility got too bad.
But the weather in this part of the world is changing so quickly that by the time qualifying began, even shreds of blue sky were visible. When the track dried up, it was necessary to leave it as late as possible, switch to slicks in time and try not to make mistakes. Daniel Ricciardo was one of those who did it. The Aussie appears to have made it to the second part of qualifying in his first wet competitive session since returning to F1 with the Alpha Tauri at the last race in Hungary, but his lap has been removed for going over the track limit and he starts 19th.< /p>
Verstappen shaved very close in the second quarter, Pierre Gasly missed his chance to beat him in the closing seconds of the session. The Dutchman was furious. “We should have just done two laps in a row, just like I said,” he radioed his GP race engineer.
The long-suffering Lambiaz replied, “You're done with Max.” Verstappen continued: “I don’t care, buddy, that we are P10. It's just a shitty performance.”
Max Verstappen is NOT happy with Q2 😡📻 pic.twitter.com/oBu5PBgKek
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 28, 2023
Lambiase, clearly having had enough, quipped, “Well then, when the track was two seconds faster for your last lap and you didn't have any energy left . how would it go down? But you tell me what you want to do in Q3 and we will do it. Kits, fuel, mileage plan.
Verstappen did not respond to this. And later he repented. “Sorry GP for being so… pompous,” he said during the warm-up lap. “I'm slowly getting used to it, Max,” came the sardonic reply.
In addition, the session turned out to be less dramatic than many expected. Further heavy rain is predicted for the Saturday of the individual sprint, which will see a qualifying session followed by a short, lower-sprint sprint race. But the weather is expected to improve, as is Verstappen's mood yesterday. “Sometimes it happens,” he said, smiling about his tantrum. “We can be quite emotional, quite loud. We'll sort it out later.”
Belgian Grand Prix qualifying time: 47.045
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