Under Formula One’s complex engine penalty regulations (see sidebar), the changes equate to a 55-place grid drop, which means Hamilton will start from the back row, most likely joined by McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, who has a 35-place grid drop of his own.
Advertisement
Max Verstappen will have an unhindered view of the first corner at the start of Sunday’s Belgian Formula One Grand Prix, but the Dutchman will have his sights set far beyond that after securing the maiden front-row start of his fledgling career.
Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg of Germany (R) reacts after qualifying in pole position ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen of the Netherlands.
Mexican Sergio Perez was sixth, ahead of his Force India team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas of Williams, Jenson Button of McLaren Honda and Felipe Massa in the second Williams.
On the second lap of a frentic start, Carlos Sainz’s right rear Pirelli blew up on the Kemmel straight, leading to a spin at the Les Coombes chicane, and a destroyed rear wing, he was forced to retire.
The race had to be red flagged for barrier repairs after Kevin Magnussen’s Renault crashed into a tire wall outside Turn 4, allowing both Alonso and Hamilton another opportunity to gain more ground on the restart.
The Dane was taken to hospital for routine checks after suffering a cut to his left ankle in the high-speed crash.
Considering the next race is the Italian GP in Monza – Ferrari’s home race – Verstappen will have the crowd against him.
The sport held its breath with Magnussen’s auto buried in the wall, but the Dane was able to walk away from his destroyed Renault albeit with a limp. “I can’t say right now what the plan is – the team will know already what’s best and we’ll discuss that later”.
When Webber made his way over to Ricciardo, the Red Bull Racing driver handed Webber his drink. After the safety auto came out, the race was halted on lap 10 of 44 as the battered barrier needed repairing.
Hamilton suffered two consecutive failures of the MGU-H – the motor-generator unit that recovers energy from the turbo – at the Chinese and Russian Grands Prix in April, affecting his results at those races and having a knock-on effect.
In a fascinating sub-plot, Verstappen and Raikkonen were involved in another incident as Verstappen appeared to nudge him wide. “I spoke in qualifying”, Button hit back.
Raikkonen was heavily critical of Verstappen on the radio, saying “his only interest is pushing me off the circuit completely” and later calling his driving “fucking ridiculous”. “It’s good TV if someone is moaning”.
Advertisement
“It’s going to be a very, very hard race”, Hamilton told reporters after Saturday’s qualifying session where he drove only a handful of laps, watching the rest of it in his shorts in his driver’s room. Both drivers were out of the race, and they were soon joined by Carlos Sainz who suffered a right-rear tyre blow-out before coming to a stop with his vehicle in pieces.
