I was absolutely delighted, that the long and torturing 4-week summer break was finally over, and F1 was back this weekend! What made the Belgian GP weekend even more perfect, was this week´s news regarding Ferrari´s line-up for the 2018 season. Kimi´s contract for next year was confirmed already on Tuesday, and Sebastian´s three-year extension on his contract was the breaking news today. It´s difficult to describe, how over the moon I am, knowing that my two heroes -the ultimate dream team- will race for the red team next year as well!
At the beginning of Q1 both Mercedes and Ferrari sent their drivers out on the red-marked super soft tyres, whereas everyone else opted for the purple-marked ultrasoft Pirellis. As Kimi immediately suffered serious vibrations on his Ferrari, teammate Sebastian set the initial pace. The top three teams -Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull- sat out the second runs. In spite of the tyre choice, Hamilton topped the timesheets in the first session, with Sebastian second. Verstappen got closest to them, but had to run ultrasoft tyres to do it. Eye-catchingly, Palmer in his Renault was 8th fastest in the first session. Out of Q2 were both Williams drivers, both Sauber drivers and Toro Rosso´s Kvyat.
Unfortunately Kimi´s vibration issues continued in Q2. Kimi had been absolutely flying both in the first and the third free practice sessions, but now the Iceman seemed to struggle with his car. In spite of the problems Kimi was second fastest after the first runs, while once again Hamilton was topping the timesheets. Both Silver Arrows came out at the end of the session, although there would have been no need to do so. Hamilton set a staggering lap time, and teammate Bottas was already three tenths down on the Briton. Ferrari and Red Bull sat out the second runs. Kimi was the third fastest but was already seven tenths down on the pace-setter Hamilton. Red Bull´s Verstappen split the red cars. Both Haas drivers, both McLarens and Toro Rosso´s Sainz were knocked out of the final session. The luckless home hero Vandoorne will start at the back of the grid, after getting a 65-place grid penalty after a new gearbox and multiple power unit element changes. On the other hand, the black-and-yellow-liveried Renault seemed to have taken a step forward in terms of performance. Both Renault drivers made it through to Q3, Palmer being 7th and Hulkenberg 9th in Q2.
However, Palmer´s wretched luck returned the moment Q3 got underway, when his gearbox expired on his out lap and his Renault came to a halt. Hamilton took provisional pole by 0.36s to the Ferrari ace Kimi. Mercedes teammate Bottas split the red cars, as the Finn was third and Sebastian fourth. However, Hamilton turned out untouchable in the shootout for pole. The Briton improved his lap time by three tenths! Teammate Bottas was unable to match his teammate´s pace, and the Finn was already half-a-second off Hamilton. Sebastian´s second attempt was awesome, and the German made it 2nd after lapping two tenths slower than the pole-setter Hamilton. Unfortunately Kimi made a costy mistake on his second attempt, and the Iceman had to settle for P4. After showing such brilliant pace in the free practices, P4 must have been a bitter disappointment for the Iceman. Verstappen and Ricciardo both improved on their second runs but stayed where they were -5th and 6th. Hulkenberg qualified 7th for Renault, followed by the Force India duo of Perez and Ocon. The unlucky Palmer, who had suffered from a gearbox failure, rounded out the top ten.
Not only Hamilton set the new outright lap record for the Spa Francorchamps, but the Briton also equalled the all-time pole-position record of the legendary Michael Schumacher. That is an impressive achievement indeed. However, Sebastian´s long-run pace has made an impression on the title rivals Mercedes. Weather at Spa is highly unpredictable, so conditions may change quickly and vary a lot. Pole position doesn´t play such a major role at Spa, if compared to Hungary for example, so Sebastian has every opportunity to make it on the top step of the podium tomorrow. In the post-qualifying interview Kimi seemed very displeased with himself after making the mistake on his final flying lap, so I´m sure he´ll fight like a lion in tomorrow´s race. I´m hoping all the very best for both red-suited drivers! Forza Ferrari!
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