Ferrari is the thunder as Charles Leclerc stormed to a dominant pole position ahead of Sunday’s race with an electric display of assuredness over Sebastian Vettel. How Leclerc, in only his second season of Formula One, managed to out-qualify his teammate by 0.7seconds is as mysterious as it is jaw-dropping. To have a 0.7-second margin over your teammate let alone a rival team is akin to living several light years ahead of everyone else.
But Sunday is where the real work is done, has Leclerc set his car up for single-lap pace and compromised his race pace? Only time will tell. For now, Lewis Hamilton wasn’t too far away from Sebastian Vettel, 0.1seocnds is a mere sneeze in F1 terms. Hamilton’s teammate, Valtteri Bottas, will line up 4th on the grid.
The Finn has been confirmed for 2020 after recent speculation linked him… to nowhere specific. Red Bull and Max Verstappen were out-gunned at Belgium and will line up 5th for Sunday’s race. This despite an engine upgrade for the high-speed Belgian circuit.
The Renault’s of Ricciardo and Hulkenburg demonstrated a good showing but also highlighted a power deficit to the Red Bull Honda. Kimi Raikkonen of Alfa Romeo and the Hass of Magnussen rounded up the top 10.
It seems that Ferrari and Leclerc have a prime advantage to take victory on Sunday. But never count out Lewis Hamilton, however, Ferrari appears to have the power advantage at what is a power circuit.
Ferrari is the thunder for Sunday? Power isn’t everything and we know absolute power corrupts. That is to say, is too much power coursing through Ferrari’s tailpipes, leading to a possible engine failure in the race? Mere speculation for now.
2019 Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying Results:
Pos |
No |
Driver |
Car |
|
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Laps |
1 |
16 |
Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari |
|
1:43.587 |
1:42.938 |
1:42.519 |
17 |
2 |
5 |
Sebastian Vettel |
Ferrari |
|
1:44.109 |
1:43.037 |
1:43.267 |
17 |
3 |
44 |
Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes |
|
1:45.260 |
1:43.592 |
1:43.282 |
19 |
4 |
77 |
Valtteri Bottas |
Mercedes |
|
1:45.141 |
1:43.980 |
1:43.415 |
19 |
5 |
33 |
Max Verstappen |
Red Bull Racing Honda |
|
1:44.622 |
1:44.132 |
1:43.690 |
16 |
6 |
3 |
Daniel Ricciardo |
Renault |
|
1:45.560 |
1:44.103 |
1:44.257 |
17 |
7 |
27 |
Nico Hulkenberg |
Renault |
|
1:45.899 |
1:44.549 |
1:44.542 |
16 |
8 |
7 |
Kimi Räikkönen |
Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari |
|
1:45.842 |
1:44.140 |
1:44.557 |
18 |
9 |
11 |
Sergio Perez |
Racing Point BWT Mercedes |
|
1:45.732 |
1:44.707 |
1:44.706 |
18 |
10 |
20 |
Kevin Magnussen |
Haas Ferrari |
|
1:45.839 |
1:44.738 |
1:45.086 |
18 |
11 |
8 |
Romain Grosjean |
Haas Ferrari |
|
1:45.694 |
1:44.797 |
12 |
|
12 |
4 |
Lando Norris |
McLaren Renault |
|
1:46.154 |
1:44.847 |
12 |
|
13 |
18 |
Lance Stroll |
Racing Point BWT Mercedes |
|
1:46.000 |
1:45.047 |
8 |
|
14 |
23 |
Alexander Albon |
Red Bull Racing Honda |
|
1:45.528 |
1:45.799 |
8 |
|
15 |
99 |
Antonio Giovinazzi |
Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari |
|
1:45.637 |
7 |
||
16 |
10 |
Pierre Gasly |
Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda |
|
1:46.435 |
5 |
||
17 |
55 |
Carlos Sainz |
McLaren Renault |
|
1:46.507 |
6 |
||
18 |
26 |
Daniil Kvyat |
Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda |
|
1:46.518 |
4 |
||
19 |
63 |
George Russell |
Williams Mercedes |
|
1:47.548 |
6 |
||
NC |
88 |
Robert Kubica |
Williams Mercedes |
|
DNF |
2 |