The loser of the starting position race in the High Fens was clear before the drivers ventured onto the seven-kilometer-long watercourse at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday afternoon: Max Verstappen. Delayed by ten places for the start of the Grand Prix on Sunday (3 p.m. in the F.A.Z. live ticker for Formula 1, on RTL and Sky). The combustion engine of the Red Bull RB 20 was replaced again, for the fifth time this year. The regulations only allow four power plants per season and stipulate a starting penalty for violations. The world champion managed to outrun all of his opponents in qualifying and set the best time of 1:53.159 minutes. Like last year, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc will start from pole position, but he was six tenths short of Verstappen’s best lap. The Dutchman remains in eleventh place, behind Leclerc Verstappen’s colleague Sergio Pérez and record world champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) move up to second and third place. “Without rain we would have fought for fifth place.” The recently strengthened McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri start from fourth and fifth place. Nico Hülkenberg from Emmerich qualified in 16th place in the Haas. “I didn’t expect that,” said Charles Leclerc about his unexpected success. “Without the rain we would have been fighting for fifth place with Mercedes. But I don’t want to complain.” And further: “It feels good to be at the front again.” Max Verstappen, who had cursed so violently on the radio at the Hungarian Grand Prix last week, was also satisfied that now everyone Pilots are required to moderate their tone. Now the world champion saw no reason to default: “The car worked quite well in the wet,” he said. “It will be warmer tomorrow, so it’s just a matter of tire wear. I don’t know how fast we will be, but I hope that we can be involved.” The threat of rain characterized the qualification in each of the three rounds. This is how the game went: If he came, the casting, a quick round set early would be crucial. If he didn’t happen, the railway would be in the best condition at the latest. It was drizzling at times and the drivers were sliding here and there on the track at Spa-Francorchamps. But the rain tires remained in the closet; intermediate rubber for mixed conditions was sufficient. In the final, the recently unfortunate Sergio Pérez looked like the safe heir to pole when Charles Leclerc knocked him out. “Let’s see,” said Leclerc, “what we can do in the race when the rain has disappeared.” “No grip” When the traffic lights turned green at the start of the grid race, the field was already piled up in the pit lane. Nothing but get out and do a quick lap. “No grip,” reported Lewis Hamilton. How unpleasant in Spa, where the pilots are fully on the accelerator for more than half of a lap, reaching speeds of 320 and more even on wet slopes. The rain had already had a severe impact on the final training runs a few hours before and increased the risk of accidents: at the wheel of his Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll got lost on wet asphalt in the famous Eau Rouge valley and spun into the barrier. His company car lost its original shape and color, the engine and gearbox had to be replaced for qualification, but the Canadian got out uninjured. The Formula 2 sprint race, which should have taken place an hour and a half before qualifying, also fell victim to the bad weather and was postponed until the evening. Afterwards it remained humid, but there was no further cloudburst. External content from Twitter In order to display external content, your revocable consent is required. Personal data from third-party platforms (possibly USA) may be processed. Additional Information . Activate external contentIn the first round of the hunt, contrary to expectations, improvements were possible until the end of the first 18 minutes. To the detriment of Hülkenberg. Next to him, Kevin Magnussen failed in the second Haas, Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls), Logan Sargeant (Williams) and Zhou Guanyu (Sauber). “I struggled on the intermediates,” said Hülkenberg. “We didn’t have the grip we needed to set a better lap time. It’s been an issue this season that the car doesn’t feel so good on the intermediates.” “My rear tires are slipping everywhere!” As a result, it rained a little more heavily and George Russell complained about the road situation: “My rear tires are slipping everywhere there!”. He almost completely lost control of his company Mercedes and drifted on the asphalt. What looks spectacular is rarely fast, but the Brit narrowly cleared the hurdle and made it to the finale for pole position like the rest of the best in class. Alex Albon (Williams), Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Daniel Ricciardo (Racing Bulls), Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) and Stroll failed. Does Verstappen have to give up a win in the last race before the summer break given his unfavorable starting position? Not necessarily. It wasn’t long ago that the Dutchman triumphed in Spa from 14th position – 18 seconds ahead. However, his Red Bull is no longer as powerful as it was in 2022, when he achieved this hussar ride. “I’m not as confident as in previous years that I can work my way forward here,” said Verstappen. If he failed to catch up and missed out on victory for the fourth time in a row, that would mean his longest losing streak in four years. And what about the weather? “Tomorrow will be a beautiful day,” Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack dared to predict and believed Météo-France. According to the French weather service, it should stay dry during the Grand Prix.More on the topicIn the High Fens, however, they don’t give much attention to such predictions. Even the experts don’t seem to trust their forecast. They qualify: “Spa offers one of the most diverse weather conditions this season. […] Weather fronts, daily cloud development, thunderstorms or sunshine: everything is possible in Spa-Francorchamps.”
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